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Arizona court sets May 20 execution for prisoner convicted of killing man by setting him on fire

The execution on May 20 will be Arizona's first death penalty use this year; McGill was convicted for a 2002 arson murder and exhausted all appeals by 2022.

  • On Thursday, the Arizona Supreme Court issued an execution warrant for Leroy Dean McGill, scheduling his execution for May 20, 2026, marking the state's first use of the death penalty this year.
  • McGill was convicted in 2004 of murdering Charles Perez and attempting to murder Nova Banta during a July 2002 Phoenix apartment attack; authorities said he poured gasoline on the couple and lit a match.
  • Jurors convicted McGill in 2004, finding he committed the offenses in an "especially cruel" and "especially heinous or depraved" manner; prosecutors stated he had exhausted all state and federal appeals by 2022.
  • Defense lawyer Jennifer Garcia expressed disappointment in the warrant, stating her team will "continue to stand by" McGill while acknowledging the "profound loss for the victims and their families."
  • Arizona currently holds 108 prisoners on death row, having resumed executions in 2022 following a nearly eight-year hiatus caused by difficulties obtaining drugs and criticism of a botched 2014 procedure.
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Arizona court sets May 20 execution for prisoner convicted of killing man by setting him on fire

A May 20 execution has been scheduled for an Arizona man convicted of murder for fatally setting a man on fire during a 2002 attack.

·United States
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AZCentral broke the news in Phoenix, United States on Thursday, March 26, 2026.
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