Three states carry out executions on same day, including Alabama man for 1991 killings

Florida, Indiana and Alabama each carried out an execution on the same day, an unusual instance of three states administering the death penalty on a single day.

Florida execution

Jesse Guardado, 64, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a lethal injection at a state prison in Starke. He had pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing 75-year-old Jackie Malone inside her Walton County home in 2004 before stealing her jewelry box, $80 and other valuables to buy drugs.

Guardado said, “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 execution marked Florida’s record-tying 19th execution of the year. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrants that led to a state record of 19 executions in 2025, and the state is planning two more executions later this year.

Alabama execution

Michael Taylor, 54, received a lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. local time. He replied “no sir” when asked if he had any final words and appeared to mouth “thank you” toward his attorneys.

In 1991, Taylor, then 19, fatally beat two people, ages 83 and 79, with a metal bar during a robbery in their Gadsden, Alabama, home. The victims were Ivan and Lucille Moore.

Gov. Kay Ivey declined to reduce Taylor’s sentence to life in prison. She issued a statement calling his actions “reprehensible” and saying, “35 years ago yesterday, Ivan and Lucille Moore kindly opened their home to Michael Taylor. Mr. Taylor repaid the Moores by beating them to death with a metal bar, all to rob them for money to buy clothing and jewelry.”

The state changed Taylor’s execution method after a judge declared a nitrogen gas method unconstitutional. His attorneys had objected to the last-minute switch since he selected nitrogen gas as his method years ago, but a judge ruled against Taylor.

Indiana execution

Jeffrey Weisheit, 50, was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m. at the state prison in Michigan City. He had acknowledged killing his girlfriend’s two children in a house fire in the Evansville area in 2010 but had hoped Gov. Mike Braun would grant clemency. Braun declined.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said the execution provided “long-awaited justice for Alyssa Lynch and her brother Caleb, two innocent children whose lives were stolen in an act of unspeakable cruelty.”

Why it matters

The same day as the executions, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he will commute all 548 death sentences in his state, saying he believes “state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values.” Florida has carried out more than half of the 35 executions so far this year in the U.S. It is the second time since August that three states had conducted executions on a single day; the last time it happened was 2010.

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Sources

• apnews.com: Alabama executes man for 1991 double murder in last of 3 executions carried out same day in US | AP News
• 2news.com: Alabama executes man for 1991 double murder in last of 3 executions carried out the same day in US | National News | 2news.com
• thetimestribune.com: Alabama executes man for 1991 double murder in last of 3 executions carried out the same day in US | National News | thetimestribune.com
• chronicle-tribune.com: Alabama executes man for 1991 double murder in last of 3 executions carried out the same day in US | Wire | chronicle-tribune.com

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.