USA - Florida. Jesse Guardado was executed by lethal injection on November 5

November 5, 2026 - Florida. Jesse Guardado was executed by lethal injection on November 5 

Guardado, 64, Hispanic, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a three-drug injection at a state prison in Starke.

Guardado was already strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm when the curtain to the Florida execution chamber went up promptly at 6:00 p.m. When the team warden asked Guardado if he had any last statement, he replied, "I would like to once again apologize for the pain and suffering I've caused to the victim's family and my own family, as well."

The deadly drugs began flowing immediately after that. About a minute into the injection, Guardado began breathing heavily, followed by some sputtering and twitching that lasted about another minute.

As the twitching subsided, the team warden shook Guardado and shouted his name, but there was no response. A medic was called in to check for a pulse at 6:12 p.m., and Guardado was pronounced dead a minute later.

Guardado was sentenced to death in 2005 (see HoC 15/09/2005 and 13/10/2005) in the killing of Jackie T. Malone, 75, a community and political activist who was helping him with his rehabilitation following previous convictions for robbery. She was repeatedly stabbed and beaten on Sept. 13, 2004. 

At the time for Guardado that was a period of severe crack addiction, following a very long history of substance abuse. Guardado broke into the elderly woman’s home, struck her, and stabbed her to death before stealing her jewelry box, $80, and other valuables to buy more drugs.

Immediately after the crime, he spontaneously confessed to the incident and pleaded guilty without a plea bargain, initially requesting the death penalty himself, only to then embark on a lengthy legal appeals process that lasted over 18 years. 

Guardado’s case sparked intense debate due to his past. He was, in fact, a survivor of the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, a notorious Florida state reform school that was closed years ago due to the systematic, violent, and well-documented physical and psychological abuse perpetrated against minors. Lawyers and activists had sought clemency, highlighting the severe childhood trauma Guardado suffered while in a state facility, but subsequent appeals to the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court were rejected in the days immediately preceding the execution. 

Guardado’s execution took place amid a remarkable coincidence: Thursday, November 5, was a rare day on which three different U.S. states carried out death sentences. In addition to Florida, Indiana and Alabama carried out lethal injections.

The execution of Guardado marked the 19th execution of the year in Florida, tying the state’s all-time record set in 2025. 

Mr. Guardado is be the 46th person executed by order of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who denied clemency. No capital prisoner has won clemency in Florida in over four decades. 

Guardado also becomes the 143rd person to be executed in Florida since the state resumed executions in 1979, the 35th execution of the year in the US, and the n° 1689 overall since the nation resumed executions in 1977.