The Arizona Supreme Court has issued an execution warrant for Leroy Dean McGill.
In 2002, McGill poured gasoline on his former roommate and his girlfriend and set them on fire. The roommate was killed, while his girlfriend was severely injured.
A jury unanimously convicted McGill of arson, endangerment, murder and attempted murder in 2004. They determined he committed the attack in an “especially cruel” manner. He has since exhausted all of his appeals.
The state requested an execution warrant earlier this month, which was granted by the court on Thursday. Justices James Beene and John Lopez IV recused themselves from the decision.
McGill’s execution is scheduled for May 20.
The state last carried out an execution in October, using lethal injection on Richard Djerf. The state has twice paused executions since 2014, following a botched execution which took close to two hours.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs paused executions again in 2023 shortly after taking office. Hobbs ordered a review of execution protocols. That wrapped up in 2024 and the state resumed executions in 2025.
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