Florida to Execute Jesse Guardado, Tying State Record
The 64-year-old man faces lethal injection at 6:00 p.m. local time on November 5, a decision signed by Governor Ron DeSantis.
By Carolina Wood ·
Florida will carry out the execution of Jesse Guardado on Thursday, marking the state's nineteenth capital punishment of 2026. The event ties the annual record set in 2025. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant for the 64-year-old man, who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at 6:00 p.m. local time at the Florida State Prison in Raiford, located in the northern part of the state.
Guardado was convicted in October 2005 for the 2004 murder of Jackie Malone, a 75-year-old woman. A jury unanimously recommended the death penalty, and the Florida Supreme Court confirmed the sentence in 2007. Legal challenges have since failed to overturn the verdict. In 2024, a U.S. appeals court rejected the argument that Guardado received ineffective assistance of counsel during the penalty phase. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review that decision in 2025.
The relationship between the two individuals began in 2003, shortly after Guardado was released from prison following convictions for multiple armed robberies. Malone rented him a home and assisted him in finding employment. On the night of September 13, 2004, Guardado entered Malone's residence under the influence of drugs. According to the Florida Supreme Court's account, he struck her with a metal bar and stabbed her with a knife to rob her. Guardado confessed to the crime to investigators and pleaded guilty without legal representation or a plea bargain.
The Death Penalty Information Center reports that the United States has conducted 32 executions in 2026. Eighteen of these took place in Florida, with the remaining 14 distributed among five other states. Since DeSantis took office in 2019, the state has executed 47 individuals, including the 19 carried out in 2025. Guardado's execution will bring the 2026 total to 19, matching the previous high for a single year.
Two additional executions are currently scheduled in Florida for 2026. Thomas Mitchell Overton is set to be executed on November 19, and Ricardo González is scheduled for December 1. If both proceedings occur as planned, Florida will complete 21 executions in 2026. That total would exceed the 19 recorded in 2025, establishing a new annual record for the state.
The execution will take place at the Florida State Prison in Raiford. The governor's office issued the order for the procedure, which involves the administration of a lethal injection. The state's Department of Corrections has confirmed the timing and location for the event, which is expected to conclude by early morning on November 6.
