Rapist and killer executed on death row 30 years after crimes
Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, was killed by lethal injection, more than 30 years after he raped and killed a woman.
A killer was put to death on death row today - over 30 years after he raped and murdered a woman.
Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, expressed remorse just moments before receiving the lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Gudinas passed away within 14 minutes of the injection, becoming the seventh individual to be executed in Florida this year alone.
His final utterances were largely unintelligible, but Bryan Griffin, a spokesperson for Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, stated that the sex offender repented and made a reference to Jesus. Following the administration of the drugs, Gudinas' eyes began to roll back and he experienced minor chest convulsions.
His face lost colour and became motionless after several minutes.
Gudinas was found guilty in 1995 of the rape and murder of Michelle McGrath. The court heard that the young woman's body, bearing signs of severe trauma and sexual assault, was discovered in an alleyway near a school in the early hours of May 24, 1994, reports the Mirror.
It is believed that Gudinas encountered Ms McGrath in or outside a bar in Orlando, Florida, just minutes prior to the horrific attack. An eighth execution is planned in Florida in July. The state also executed six individuals in 2023, but only carried out one execution last year.
A total of 24 men have been executed in the US this year, with scheduled executions set to make 2025 the year with the most executions since 2015.
Florida has been at the forefront of applying the death penalty this year, eclipsing other states like Texas and South Carolina, both of which are tied for second place with four executions each. Alabama follows closely with three, while Oklahoma carried out two, and Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana, and Tennessee have each seen one execution.
Mississippi is poised to hold its first execution since 2022 on Wednesday.
Amidst a surge in executions this year, Department of Corrections spokesperson Ted Veerman remarked there hasn't been a noticeable operational burden, stating: "Our staff are doing a fantastic job keeping up with the pace of these executions. We are going through with these in a professional manner."
In the most recent development, attorneys for Gudinas pushed for appeals to the Florida Supreme Court as well as the US Supreme Court, to no avail. The appellants cited "lifelong mental illnesses" as reasons for their client's exemption from the death penalty.
Nevertheless, the Florida Supreme Court rejected these appeals just last week, asserting that the legal precedents safeguarding intellectually disabled individuals from capital punishment do not extend to those with other types of mental disorders or brain injuries.
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