NewsWFLA News Channel 8 (Florida)November 5, 2026Hillsborough County
Florida carries out its 19th execution of the year as three states perform capital punishment on the same day
Photo: WFLA News Channel 8 (Florida)
Florida executed 64-year-old Jesse Guardado by lethal injection, marking the state's 19th execution of the year and tying a modern record amid a rare day of multiple executions nationwide across three states. Guardado was convicted of the 2004 murder of a 75-year-old woman in Walton County. The executions coincided with California's announcement to commute all 548 death sentences in that state.
Read the full story at WFLA News Channel 8 (Florida)Why It Matters
The execution reflects contrasting capital punishment policies nationwide, with Florida accounting for more than half of the 34 executions carried out in the U.S. this year while nearly half of all states ban the practice outright.
Key Facts
- Florida executed 64-year-old Jesse Guardado by a three-drug lethal injection at a state prison in Starke, marking the state's 19th execution of the year.
- Guardado pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a 75-year-old woman in her Walton County home in 2004 and stealing items to buy drugs.
- The U.S. Supreme Court denied Guardado's final appeal without comment, and a federal appeals court previously ruled he received a fair hearing.
- Indiana executed Jeffrey Weisheit for killing two children in a house fire in 2010 after Governor Mike Braun declined to grant clemency.
- Alabama scheduled the execution of Michael Taylor for a 1991 fatal home robbery after Governor Kay Ivey declined to reduce his sentence.
- California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to commute all 548 death sentences in his state.
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has overseen more than half of the 34 executions carried out nationwide this year.
- Indiana's execution proceeded after the Indiana Supreme Court declined to intervene regarding questions over the sourcing and expiration of lethal drugs from a pharmacy.
Who's Mentioned
PersonRon DeSantis“Florida Governor”PersonFischer“Associated Press reporter”PersonEd White“Associated Press reporter”locationStarke“Location of state prison in Florida”PersonChandler“Associated Press reporter”PersonKay Ivey“Alabama Governor”PersonTodd Rokita“Indiana Attorney General”OrganizationAssociated Press“News agency”OrganizationIndiana Supreme Court“State court that declined to intervene”PersonMichael Taylor“Inmate scheduled for execution in Alabama”locationGadsden“Location of Alabama home robbery”PersonAlyssa Lynch“Victim in Indiana case”PersonJeffrey Weisheit“Inmate executed in Indiana”PersonNoelle Russell“Spokesperson at the Indiana Department of Correction”locationMichigan City“Location of Indiana state prison”OrganizationProject Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty“Anti-death penalty organization”PersonCaleb“Victim in Indiana case”OrganizationIndiana Pharmacy Board“State board facing a disciplinary hearing”PersonChrista Pike“Inmate involved in a failed Tennessee execution”PersonJesse Guardado“Inmate executed in Florida”locationBirmingham“Location where police recovered victims' vehicle”OrganizationDepartment of Correction“Indiana state agency”PersonMike Braun“Indiana Governor”locationWalton County“Location of the 2004 murder”PersonEsther Brown“Representative of Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty”PersonGavin Newsom“California Governor”