51-year-old Thomas Lee Gudinas became Florida’s 7th inmate to be executed this year. He was put to death via lethal injection at Florida State Prison on June 24 at 6:13 pm. His death warrant was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis a month ago, on May 23. Gudinas was found guilty of sexually assaulting and murdering a woman in central Florida in May 1994.
He attacked Michelle McGrath after she left a nightclub and headed towards her car. Her body was found in an alley the next morning. The medical examiner determined the “cause of death was a brain hemorrhage resulting from blunt force injuries to her head, probably inflicted by a stomping type blow from a boot.”
KILLER EXECUTED: The state of Florida has executed Thomas Lee Gudinas, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of Michelle McGrath in 1994. https://t.co/EF51Fi08nT pic.twitter.com/907UBhNgQK
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) June 24, 2025
When the curtain to the execution chamber lifted at 6 pm on Tuesday evening, Guridas was seen already strapped to a wheeled stretcher with an IV in his left arm. After a call with the governor’s office, the warden asked the convict if he had any last words. Although the death row inmate‘s words were not audible to those in the viewing room, he reportedly showed remorse and mentioned Jesus in his last moments, as reported by The Mirror.
A lethal injection was then administered on him. His eyes rolled and his face went pale. The prison warden then announced that the execution was complete and Gudinas was pronounced dead at 6:13 pm, as per Bryan Griffin, a spokesperson for Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. The curtain to the chamber was closed and people in the viewing room were escorted. As per NBC Miami, 19 people witnessed the execution, including reporters and Department of Corrections officials.
Florida is not playing around!
State just executed another death row inmate. 51-year-old Thomas Lee Gudinas was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a lethal injection. Convicted of murdering & raping a woman in 1994.
He is the 7th person executed in the state this year. pic.twitter.com/OYBVXcr46L— JLR© (@JLRINVESTIGATES) June 25, 2025
When his death warrant was signed last month, his attorneys made desperate attempts to stop the execution. They argued at the Florida Supreme Court that he should be spared because he was “severely mentally ill.”
However, the Supreme Court rejected the arguments. Even the final petition made a few hours before the execution was rejected by the US Supreme Court. On his last day, Gudinas reportedly woke up at 4:45 am. His last meal comprised pepperoni pizza, french fries and soda, as per Ted Veerman, communications director for the Florida Department of Corrections. His mother also paid him a visit.
With this execution, Florida has established itself as a leader in capital punishment. He became the seventh person to be executed in Florida in 2025. The eighth execution will take place in July. This is a sharp rise in numbers as six people were executed in the state in 2023 while 2024 witnessed only one execution.
2025 has seen a chilling rise in the number of executions across the United States. So far, 24 convicts have been put to death while several more executions are scheduled for upcoming months. Texas and South Carolina are following Florida’s lead when it comes to execution. In Alabama, three executions have been carried out this year so far.
Despite the uptick in executions, Ted Veerman assured the public that the agency is managing the pace of executions effectively. He said on Tuesday, “Our staff are doing a fantastic job keeping up with the pace of these executions. And we are going through with these in a professional manner.”
