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1h ago

Thomas Lee Gudinas Executed as Courts Reject Mental Illness and Death Warrant Challenges

Florida has carried out more executions than any other state this year under the governor’s sole control over death warrants

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Thomas Gudinas, 51, is to be executed by lethal injection in Florida for rape and murder
FILE - Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla., Aug. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Curt Anderson, file)
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Overview

  • Gudinas, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. on June 24 at Florida State Prison for the 1994 rape and murder of Michelle McGrath.
  • He was the seventh person put to death in Florida in 2025, contributing to the state’s status as the nation’s most active executor this year.
  • Florida’s Supreme Court ruled that protections for intellectually disabled inmates do not extend to other mental illnesses when denying Gudinas’s appeal.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court refused a last-minute stay and denied requests for death warrant records that sought to challenge Gov. Ron DeSantis’s discretionary authority.
  • Witnesses reported that Gudinas made a brief final statement repenting and referencing Jesus before the lethal injection was administered without irregularity.