Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, is set to be executed Tuesday by lethal injection for r—g and killing a woman near a Central Florida bar in 1994. He will be put to death by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He will now be the seventh person to be executed in the state this year. Florida put to death six death row inmates in 2023.
However, last year, there was only one person who was executed.
On May 24, 1994, Michelle McGrath was seen at a bar called Barbarella’s around 3 a.m. Just several hours later, her body was found in an alley next to a nearby school. According to reports, there was evidence of serious trauma and s—-l assault in the corpse.
Lee Gudinas was also at the same bar with his friends the night before. However, his pals testified that they had left without him. Later, a school employee who found McGrath’s body testified that they spotted Gudinas fleeing the area beforehand. The investigation unraveled another woman who also identified Gudinas as the man who stalked her and even threatened to assault her.
In 1995, he was convicted on charges of r–e and killing. In 1995, he was sentenced to death.
Gudinas’ lawyers filed appeals for leniency with the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. The attorneys argued in their state filing that his “lifelong mental illness” led him to commit the crimes. “Evolving standards of decency have rendered the execution of Gudinas constitutionally impermissible,” they wrote.
Deterrence and retribution are not served with Gudinas’ execution. People suffering from the level of mental illness Gudinas did at the time of the offense are incapable of being deterred by the death penalty. It is hardly fair retribution if Gudinas had little capacity at the time of the offense to act rationally and avoid the conduct.”
Florida Governor Ron Desantis has set a June 24, 2025 execution date for Thomas Lee Gudinas
The Rusk County Trial Court of Texas has set a September 25, 2025 execution date for Blaine Keith Milam. pic.twitter.com/iSx2ZtLMGQ
— Friday-Justice-Obsessions (@death_row0506) May 24, 2025
However, last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied the defense lawyer’s appeals. The ruling stated that the case law only shields intellectually disabled people from execution. However, the same does not apply to those with other forms of mental illness or brain damage.
A federal filing argues that the state governor’s unbridled discretion to sign death warrants breaches the constitutional rights of death row inmates. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to release its decision regarding the same.
Meanwhile, this marks the 23rd execution in the U.S. this year. With the upcoming schedules, 2025 will be the year with the most executions since 2015. Florida has executed more people than any other state in 2025. Texas and South Carolina are in second place together, with four executions each this year. Alabama is in the third with three executions in 2025.
Next is Oklahoma, which has two, while Arizona, Louisiana, Indiana, and Tennessee each have one. Mississippi will have its first execution since 2022 this Wednesday.
