Arizona has executed a death row inmate who set two people on fire more than 20 years ago, killing one and forever changing the life of another.
On Wednesday, May 20, the state executed 63-year-old Leroy McGill by lethal injection for the 2002 murder of 21-year-old Charles Perez. Perez and his girlfriend accused McGill of stealing, and McGill set them on fire, court records show. Perez died of his injuries the next day, while his girlfriend survived with severe burns.
“More than two decades later, Charles Perez and the women who survived this horrific attack finally have justice,” Maricopa County Prosecutor Rachel Mitchell said in a statement. “What Leroy McGill did – pour gasoline on his victims and set them on fire – is one of the most brutal acts imaginable.”
“My heart goes out to Charles Perez and the surviving families who have lived with the physical and emotional trauma of that night for nearly 24 years,” she said. “May this bring them some measure of peace.”
McGill was pronounced dead at 10:26 a.m. PT. According to multiple news media sources who witnessed the death process, he was tied to the execution chair and made brief last words in the death chamber, “I will go home soon.”
McGill’s execution was the 13th in the United States this year and the first in Arizona in 2026. Two more executions are planned this week in Tennessee and Florida.
Here’s what you need to know about McGill’s crime and his execution.
On July 13, 2002, Leroy Dean McGill walked into a north Phoenix apartment with a glass of gasoline. McGill doused Charles Perez and Nova Banta with gasoline and set them on fire. Perez later died from his burns. Banta was burned so badly that treating doctors had to put her into a medically induced coma to save her life. McGill boasted that he mixed gasoline with Styrofoam to form a gel so it would burn hotter.
What was Leroy McGill convicted of?
Court records show that on July 13, 2002, Leroy McGill walked into the Phoenix apartment of Charles Perez, 21, and Nova Banta, 24. He then threw a cup of gasoline and set them on fire with a match. Prosecutors said McGill mixed Styrofoam with gasoline to create a “napalm-like substance that would stick to the victims and cause them more pain,” an allegation his attorneys deny.
McGill attacked Perez and Banta because the couple accused him of stealing a shotgun. Before lighting the match, McGill told the couple they shouldn’t talk about people behind their backs, court records show.
Perez died from his injuries the day after the attack. Banta suffered severe burns to 75% of his body, but he survived.
McGill has been fighting to have his execution halted in recent months, largely because his lawyers say his trial lawyers made mistakes at the time. Those efforts failed and he refused to submit a clemency petition to the state.
McGill’s final meal consisted of cottage pie, green salad, onion rings, bread and butter, and chocolate cake.
Overview of executions in the United States this year
McGill’s execution was one of three carried out over two days this week. On Thursday, May 21, the state of Tennessee plans to sentence Tony Carruthers to death for the 1994 slayings of three people at a cemetery, including a woman who was buried alive. Also on Thursday, Florida planned to execute Richard Knight, a man convicted of 2,000 fatal stabbings of a pregnant woman and her 4-year-old daughter.
Multiple executions in the same week or day are not uncommon, with as many as five executions occurring in the same week in recent years. Experts agree that the timing and timing of state executions are coincidental.
So far this year, states have executed 12 prisoners. The executions of McGill, Carruthers and Knight will bring that number to 15. So far, nine more executions are expected throughout the rest of the year, but that number is sure to increase as states can issue death warrants at any time.
Last year, the United States carried out 47 executions, the deadliest year for death row inmates since 2009. The number of executions this year is slightly lower than this time last year.
Contributed by Perry Vandell, The Arizona Republic
Amanda Lee Myers is a veteran crime reporter covering death penalty, cold case investigations and breaking news for USA TODAY. Follow her on X @amandaleeusat
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: Leroy McGill, who set couple on fire in 2002, is executed in Arizona
