Leroy McGill: Execution date set for Arizona man convicted of murder

PHOENIX – An Arizona man convicted of murder and attempted murder will be executed later this year.

The state Supreme Court on March 26 issued an execution warrant for Leroy McGill. His execution date is set for May 20, 2026.

The backstory:

McGill was charged in 2003 with the murder of Charles Perez. He was also charged with attempted murder, arson and endangerment. McGill was convicted the following year.

During sentencing, the jury found that McGill “knowingly created a grave risk of death to persons other than the victim, and that he committed the offense in both an ‘especially cruel’ and an ‘especially heinous or depraved’ manner,” according to the Arizona Supreme Court.

McGill exhausted all of his appeals by 2022. 

What they’re saying:

“Under Arizona law, after a person’s conviction and sentence of death are affirmed and the first state and federal post-conviction relief proceedings have concluded, the Supreme Court must issue a warrant of execution when the State requests one. The Court has now fulfilled that legal obligation,” Supreme Court officials wrote in a news release.