Arizona puts Leroy McGill to death in state’s 1st execution of 2026

Arizona carried out its first execution of 2026 on May 20, when Leroy Dean McGill was put to death by lethal injection at the State Prison Complex in Florence. The procedure began at 10:11 a.m. and McGill was pronounced dead at 10:26 a.m., with his last meal including onion rings, bread and butter, chocolate cake, cottage pie, and a green salad. McGill’s final words thanked those involved for their kindness. McGill was sentenced to death in 2004 after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and other charges tied to a deadly fire in Phoenix in July 2002. Authorities alleged he doused Charles Perez and Perez’s girlfriend, Nova Banta, with gasoline before setting them ablaze with a match. Perez died, while Banta survived and later identified McGill as the attacker. Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell stated that justice had been served after over two decades, acknowledging the cruelty of McGill’s actions. She expressed sympathy for Perez’s family and Banta, who has endured physical and emotional scars since the attack. Arizona resumed executions in 2022 after an eight-year moratorium, following a review ordered by Governor Katie Hobbs in 2023. The state executed two inmates in 2025 after pausing executions briefly for legal scrutiny. Arizona currently holds 108 inmates on death row, with additional executions scheduled in Tennessee and Florida later in May. McGill’s execution was the 13th in the U.S. in 2026, continuing a trend of renewed capital punishment cases following legal and procedural reviews. The Arizona Supreme Court also upheld the death penalty for Edward McCauley in April, who was convicted of murdering his estranged wife in 2014.