She’s one of the few women in America waiting for the state to end her life. If you’ve been following true crime for a while, the name Shawna Forde probably rings a bell, mostly because the details of her case were so uniquely horrific. Even in the world of high-profile murders, the 2009 Arivaca, Arizona, shootings stand out for their sheer coldness. But since it's been years since the trial made national headlines, people are naturally asking: is shawna forde still alive?
Yes. As of early 2026, Shawna Forde remains alive and is incarcerated at the Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville.
She hasn't gone anywhere. She’s sitting in the Lumley Unit, which is where Arizona houses its female death row inmates. Honestly, the wheels of justice in death penalty cases don't just move slowly—they basically crawl. Between the endless appeals and the state’s own internal battles over execution protocols, Forde has spent over a decade in a 12-by-7-foot cell.
What Really Happened in Arivaca?
To understand why she's still a topic of conversation, you have to look back at the night that landed her there. It wasn't just a robbery gone wrong; it was a bizarre, ideologically driven nightmare. Forde was the leader of a group called Minutemen American Defense (MAD). She had this grand, delusional plan to fund her "border patrol" activities by robbing drug dealers.
The target was Raul "Junior" Flores. On May 30, 2009, Forde and two accomplices, Jason Bush and Albert Gaxiola, tricked their way into the Flores home by claiming they were law enforcement officers looking for fugitives.
Things turned lethal almost immediately.
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Raul was shot and killed. His wife, Gina Gonzalez, was shot but survived by playing dead. The part that truly sickened the public—and the jury—was the death of 9-year-old Brisenia Flores. The little girl was shot twice in the face at close range as she sat on the couch, pleading for her life. Prosecutors argued that Forde wasn't just a bystander; she was the mastermind who orchestrated the entire thing to steal jewelry and cash she thought was hidden in the house.
Why hasn't the execution happened yet?
You might wonder why, after being sentenced to death in 2011, she is still drawing breath. It’s a fair question. The reality is that Arizona has had a very rocky relationship with the death penalty over the last decade.
There’s a massive backlog.
Arizona went on a long hiatus from executions after the botched 2014 execution of Joseph Wood, which took nearly two hours. Then you have the legal challenges regarding the drugs used for lethal injection. Forde’s defense team, like most death row lawyers, has filed every possible appeal to keep her alive. They’ve challenged everything from the jury selection to the way the FBI handled evidence.
In 2014, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld her conviction. In 2018, they denied another one of her major appeals. But in the legal world, "denied" doesn't mean "done." There are federal appeals, petitions for habeas corpus, and clemency hearings that can take decades.
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Life on the Inside
Forde isn't exactly staying quiet in prison. She has done interviews—most recently appearing in the A&E series Women on Death Row in late 2025. In these appearances, she often sticks to the same narrative: she’s innocent, she was "set up," or she wasn't actually in the house when the trigger was pulled.
The evidence says otherwise.
When she was arrested, she actually had Gina Gonzalez’s jewelry in her purse. That’s a pretty hard thing to explain away as a "misunderstanding."
Is shawna forde still alive and facing an execution date?
Currently, there is no scheduled date for Shawna Forde’s execution.
While Arizona resumed executions in 2022 after an eight-year break, they haven't been moving through the list particularly fast. There are dozens of men on death row ahead of her. In fact, female executions are extremely rare in the United States. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, only a handful of women have been executed nationwide.
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The Current Legal Standing (2026)
- Location: ASPC-Perryville, Lumley Unit.
- Status: Death Row (Sentence of Death).
- Co-defendants: Jason Bush is also on death row. Albert Gaxiola is serving life without parole.
- Recent Activity: Continued federal-level appeals regarding the "pecuniary gain" aggravating factor.
Some people find it frustrating that she’s still alive. They look at the death of a 9-year-old and want immediate retribution. Others see the long delay as a necessary part of a system that has to be 100% sure before it takes a life. Regardless of where you stand, the fact remains that Forde is one of only three women currently on death row in Arizona.
What's Next for the Case?
We are likely looking at several more years of "status quo" for Shawna Forde. The legal system in Arizona is currently focused on the protocols for lethal injection and whether the state can reliably source the necessary chemicals.
Until those broader legal battles are settled, Forde will stay right where she is.
If you're looking for more info on this case, the best way to stay updated is to monitor the Arizona Department of Corrections inmate datalink or follow the Pima County Superior Court filings. True crime documentaries often revisit her story because it’s such a strange intersection of political extremism and common criminality, but the "breaking news" is essentially that the clock is still ticking—just very, very slowly.
Keep an eye on the Arizona Supreme Court's calendar. That’s usually where the first sign of a pending execution warrant would appear. For now, the answer to the question "is shawna forde still alive" remains a definitive yes.
Actionable Insights for Following the Case:
- Check the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADCRR) "Inmate Search" using her name or ADC number (263165) for real-time housing updates.
- Search the Arizona Supreme Court case dockets for "State v. Forde" to see if new motions have been filed in the current calendar year.
- Review the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) for updates on Arizona’s execution protocols, which directly impact when her case might move forward.