An Arizona death row killer executed on Wednesday for throwing gasoline on a man and his girlfriend and setting them ablaze used his last words to thank “everyone” for being “so accommodating and nice.”
Leroy Dean McGill received a lethal injection at the Arizona State Prison Complex and was pronounced dead at 10:26 a.m. local time after being sentenced to death for fatally immolating Charles Perez and severely burning his girlfriend in a north Phoenix apartment in July 2002.
Before being sent to his death, McGill, 63, chowed down on a last meal consisting of onion rings, bread and butter, chocolate cake, and a green salad, Fox10 Phoenix reported.
He smiled and nodded at witnesses — including an Associated Press reporter who heard the arsonist at one point say “I’m going home soon” before the injection was administered.
After being administered a lethal dose of pentobarbital, McGill began breathing heavily and made snoring sounds. Roughly 21 minutes later, he was pronounced dead.
His last words were “I just want to thank everyone for being so accommodating and nice,” according to John Barcello, deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.
McGill tossed gasoline at Perez and his girlfriend, Nova Banta, as they sat on a sofa in their apartment on July 13, 2002.
Perez and Banta accused McGill of snatching a gun from the apartment before he set the fatal fire. McGill said he was using methamphetamine and hadn’t slept in several days at the time.
Banta survived the gruesome attack with third-degree burns over three-quarters of her body. Perez died later at a hospital in extreme pain, prosecutors said.
Jurors deliberated for less than an hour before handing down a murder conviction for McGill in October 2024. He was also convicted of a slew of charges, including attempted murder, arson, and endangerment of the apartment residents who fled the apartment building as the flames rapidly spread.
His lawyers had argued for McGill to be given leniency, presenting evidence that he was abused as a child and had a mental impairment and psychological immaturity.
This spring, his legal team made a last-ditch effort for McGill to be resentenced, but a lower-court judge rejected the bid.
McGill’s execution is the first of three lined up for this week. Tennessee and Florida each are scheduled to carry out executions on Thursday.
With Post wires