Killer of Walton County Woman in 2004 Becomes 19th Florida Inmate Put to Death This Year

Jesse Guardado, who murdered a Walton County woman in 2004 after she helped him get back on his feet following his release from jail, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on Thursday. The 64-year-old was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m., according to the Department of Corrections.

The Associated Press reported that Guardado was already strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm when the death chamber curtain opened promptly at 6 p.m. Asked whether he had a final statement, he replied, "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 drugs began flowing immediately afterward. Guardado started breathing heavily, then sputtered and twitched. A warden later shook him and shouted his name, and when he did not respond, a medic pronounced him dead.

Guardado was the 19th inmate executed by Florida this year, equaling the state's total for 2025, which was its highest single year count since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who leaves office in January, has already signed two additional warrants that would set a new single year mark and bring the number of executions carried out under his watch to 49. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott oversaw 28 executions as governor between 2011 and 2019.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Guardado's request for a stay on Thursday afternoon, and the Florida Supreme Court had turned down a similar request the week before. His attorneys filed a petition arguing that Florida's clemency process violates his right to due process and separately challenged the state's lethal injection protocol.

Patrick Malone, the victim's son, told reporters he questions those who oppose capital punishment. "Do such people ever think about what happened to the victim or consider the unending aftermath the victim's family endures and relives every time that terrible event comes up?" Malone said.

DeSantis has said he is delivering justice for victims' families. "I want to make sure that (death row inmates) that have exhausted all these appeals over many years, sometimes decades, like when all that's done .. and there's victims' families that are wanting to see justice, that I'm doing my part to deliver that," he said during a 2025 appearance in Jacksonville. He has also argued that the death penalty could be a "strong deterrent" if sentences were carried out more quickly.

According to court records, Guardado killed 75-year-old Jackie Malone on Sept. 13, 2004. After an attempt to rob a local grocery store fell through, he went to Malone's secluded Walton County home carrying a metal "breaker bar" and a kitchen knife. Guardado had rented from Malone, stayed in her home as a guest and received her assistance on multiple occasions. At the time, he was on conditional release from prison that began Jan. 1, 2003, following robbery sentences in Orange and Seminole counties, and his supervision was to run through Feb. 6, 2014.

Inside the house, Guardado said he needed to use the phone, then repeatedly struck Malone in the head when she turned her back. She raised her hands to defend herself before falling to the living room floor. Believing she was still alive, Guardado stabbed her several times and slashed her throat, then stole a jewelry box, briefcase, purse and cellphone.

DeSantis has already signed a warrant for Thomas Mitchell Overton, who killed a Tavernier couple in 1992, to be executed Nov. 19; Overton turned 71 on Thursday. Last Friday, the governor signed a warrant for Ricardo Gonzalez, 56, who killed North Miami Beach police officer Steven Bauer during a 1992 bank robbery, to be executed Dec. 1.