STARKE, Fla. — Thomas Gudinas, convicted in the brutal 1994 murder of Michelle McGrath in downtown Orlando, was executed Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison following a final rejection by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gudinas, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. after receiving a lethal injection. He became the seventh person executed in Florida this year, as the state continues what could become its highest number of executions in a single year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
McGrath was attacked after leaving a nightclub in May 1994. Her body was discovered the following morning in an alleyway. A medical examiner concluded she had been sexually assaulted and died from a brain hemorrhage caused by blunt force trauma, believed to be from a stomping blow with a boot.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Gudinas’ death warrant on May 23. In the days leading up to the execution, Gudinas’ attorneys sought to halt the process, arguing he suffered from severe mental illness. The Florida Supreme Court rejected those claims last week, prompting a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
That appeal questioned the lack of transparency in the governor’s decision to sign death warrants, calling it “unbridled discretion” and demanding the state disclose the criteria used to determine which inmates are selected for execution. The high court denied the petition without comment on Tuesday.
Gudinas spent his final day receiving a visit from his mother and eating a last meal of pepperoni pizza, french fries, and soda, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. He was awakened at 4:45 a.m.
Witnesses at the execution said Gudinas lifted his head at least twice from the gurney to look into the viewing room, which held 19 people including reporters and state officials. He gave a final statement, but it was inaudible. His chest visibly moved shortly after the injection began before going still within minutes.
Florida has already executed six other inmates this year: Anthony Wainwright, Glen Rogers, Jeffrey Hutchinson, Michael Tanzi, Edward James, and James Ford. The next execution, of Michael Bernard Bell, is scheduled for July 15. Bell was convicted in a 1993 double murder in Duval County, and his attorneys filed an appeal Tuesday with the Florida Supreme Court.
If carried out, Bell’s execution would mark the eighth in 2025, tying the state’s record for the most executions in a single year — a milestone previously reached in 1984 and 2014. Florida executed one person in 2024, six in 2023, and none from 2020 through 2022.
