Florida Set to Execute Jesse Guardado After Court Denies Stay

Updated November 5: Guardado executed, pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m.

Florida executed Jesse Guardado, 64, by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke on Thursday, November 5, 2026, for the 2004 robbery and murder of 75-year-old activist Jackie T. Malone. The Florida Department of Corrections said he was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. EST. Its statement read: "The sentence of the State of Florida v. Inmate Jesse Guardado was carried out at 6:13 PM EST." The Pensacola News Journal carried the statement in its live updates, and USA TODAY independently reported the same time from a Department of Corrections news release.

In his last words, reported by the Associated Press from the execution chamber, 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 was Florida's 19th of 2026, tying the state record of 19 set in 2025, according to the Pensacola News Journal. The U.S. Supreme Court had denied Guardado's request for a stay earlier on Thursday afternoon.

Florida is scheduled to execute Jesse Guardado, 64, by lethal injection at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at Florida State Prison near Starke. At 2:13 p.m. ET on November 5, the U.S. Supreme Court denied his request for a stay of execution and a writ of certiorari. With that order, the execution is set to go forward barring intervention by the governor.

Guardado was convicted of the 2004 robbery and murder of Jackie T. Malone, a 75-year-old activist in Walton County. Malone had helped Guardado after he was paroled from prison for armed robbery convictions. The case was State of Florida v. Guardado, Case No. 2004-CF-0903, in the First Judicial Circuit. A jury recommended death, and the court imposed a death sentence. The sentence has moved through appeals for more than two decades.

If carried out as scheduled, this would be Florida's 19th execution of 2026. That total marks an unusually high pace for the state and for the country this year. The final legal challenges ended in a rapid sequence over the past month, after the governor signed the death warrant on October 5, 2026.

Why it matters

The case tests several limits of capital punishment in Florida. Guardado raised claims about Florida's clemency process, ineffective assistance of counsel, his age and cognitive decline, the expedited warrant process, and the nonunanimous jury recommendation that led to his death sentence. Courts rejected those claims at each level in recent weeks.

The Supreme Court of Florida held on October 29 that the claims were procedurally barred or without merit. The court also held there is no constitutional bar to executing elderly prisoners with cognitive decline. That ruling matters beyond this one case. It sets the terms for other older prisoners on death row who raise similar health and age arguments.

The case also shows how fast a Florida execution can move once a warrant is signed. From warrant to scheduled execution took one month.

The context

Guardado had prior armed robbery convictions before the 2004 crime. After his parole, Malone helped him, according to the record in the case. The robbery and murder in Walton County led to his arrest, trial, and conviction.

The modern phase of the case began on October 5, 2026, when the governor signed the death warrant. A Huff hearing was held on October 14. That hearing type lets a prisoner present claims about new evidence or other postconviction issues before a circuit judge.

The circuit court summarily denied his successive postconviction motion on October 19. Guardado then appealed to the Supreme Court of Florida, case SC2026-1605. On October 29, 2026, that court affirmed the denial, denied a stay, and denied oral argument. The court directed that no rehearing motion would be considered.

A federal judge also rejected his challenge to Florida's lethal injection procedures.

The final filing went to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices denied both the stay request and the petition for a writ of certiorari at 2:13 p.m. ET on November 5. The court issued no extended explanation with the denial, which is common for emergency orders in capital cases. The denial left the governor as the only official who could stop the scheduled execution.

What happens next

Prison officials plan to carry out the lethal injection at 6 p.m. ET at Florida State Prison near Starke. If the governor does not intervene, the execution will proceed as scheduled.

If it proceeds, Florida will record 19 executions in 2026. The total will draw fresh debate in the state legislature and in courts about the pace of warrants, the jury recommendation rule, clemency review, and protections for older prisoners. Lawyers in other capital cases are likely to cite the October 29 ruling in SC2026-1605 when they file age and cognitive decline claims.

No further court order is pending in the public record after the U.S. Supreme Court denial. Any last action would have to come from executive clemency. At publication time, the execution had not yet happened and remained scheduled.

Key numbers

• 64: Age of Jesse Guardado
• 75: Age of Jackie T. Malone at the time of the 2004 crime
• 19th: This would be Florida's 19th execution of 2026 if carried out
• 6 p.m. ET: Scheduled time of execution on November 5, 2026
• 2:13 p.m. ET: Time the U.S. Supreme Court denied the stay on November 5
• 2004-CF-0903: Trial case number in the First Judicial Circuit