phoenix — An Arizona man convicted of murder for setting a man on fire to his death during a 2002 attack is scheduled to be executed on May 20, marking the first use of the death penalty in the state this year.
The Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday issued a death warrant for 63-year-old Leroy Dean McGill, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Charles Perez. Authorities said McGill threw a cup of gasoline and a lit match at Perez and another person, Nova Banta, while they were sitting on a couch in a north Phoenix apartment.
Banta survived but suffered third-degree burns over three-quarters of her body. In her testimony at trial, Banta identified McGill as her attacker.
Authorities say McGill was accused by Perez and Banta of stealing a gun from their apartment before the attack.
Jurors deliberated for less than an hour before convicting McGill in Perez’s 2004 death, attempted murder for attacking Banta, arson, and reckless endangerment of people who fled without injury when the fire forced them to flee the apartment and an adjacent unit as the flames spread.
McGill’s lawyers argued for leniency by presenting evidence of abuse he suffered as a child, as well as mental disability and psychological immaturity, but the jury ultimately returned a death sentence.
McGill’s lawyers had asked the state’s highest court to delay a decision on issuing an execution order, as they aim to litigate several claims, including that jurors were given incorrect instructions during the sentencing phase of the trial.
Prosecutors opposed the request, saying McGill had exhausted his appeals and that the final legal push by defense attorneys came after the state had already asked the court to issue a death warrant. “We will continue to stand by Leroy and recognize the strength of rehabilitation and growth he has shown by building a positive and meaningful life in prison, despite our disappointment in the court’s decision to issue the death warrant,” McGill’s attorney, Jennifer Garcia, said in a statement. “We also acknowledge the terrible loss of the victims and their families and wish them peace.”
Arizona used the death penalty twice in 2025 with two executions Richard Kenneth Jerfe In 1993 four members of Phoenix’s family were killed Aaron Gonches In the 2002 fatal shooting of his girlfriend’s ex-husband.
The state implemented Three executions in 2022 After a hiatus of nearly eight years due to criticism that the 2014 execution was a failure and due to difficulties in obtaining the drugs needed to carry out the execution.
In the 2014 execution, Joseph Wood was injected with a substance 15 doses A combination of two drugs over the course of two hours, causing him to snort repeatedly and gasp hundreds of times before he died.
Arizona currently has 108 inmates on death row.