Indiana, Florida and Alabama each put a man to death Thursday, the second time this year three executions occurred on the same day.
Indiana Executes Jeffrey Weisheit
Indiana officials carried out Jeffrey Weisheit, 50, at 12:45 a.m. after a lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. He was convicted of setting a 2010 house fire that killed his girlfriend’s two children, ages 8 and 5. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said the execution provided long‑awaited justice for the victims.
His attorneys requested additional brain scans, citing a history of head injuries and mental health issues, but Governor Mike Braun denied the request and rejected a commutation to life in prison.
Braun said repeated state and federal court reviews never overturned Weisheit’s sentence, adding that the execution fulfilled the will of the courts.
Florida Executes 77-Year-Old Jesse Guardado
Jesse Guardado, 64, received lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke at 6:13 p.m. after pleading guilty to the 2004 stabbing death of 75‑year‑old Jackie Malone, a woman who had helped him secure housing and a job.
Guardado stole jewelry, $80 and other items to fund his drug addiction, and his execution matched Florida’s record of 19 death sentences imposed in 2024, which represented roughly 40% of the 47 executions carried out nationwide that year.
Alabama Carries Out Michael Taylor
Michael Taylor, 54, was executed by lethal injection after a judge rejected his attorneys’ objections, despite his request for nitrogen gas.
Taylor was found guilty of the 1991 murders of Ivan and Lucille Moore, who were beaten to death with a metal bar during a robbery at their home.
Governor Kay Ivey declined to commute the sentence, calling the killing “reprehensible,” while the victims’ family expressed relief that the death sentence was finally carried out after 35 years.
National Context and Execution Trends
The trio of executions marked the second same‑day triple execution this year, following a similar event in August involving Oklahoma, Tennessee and Alabama.
Nationwide, 35 executions have been carried out in 2025, with Florida accounting for more than half of them.
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to commute all 548 death sentences in the state to life without parole, arguing that state‑sanctioned killing conflicts with the state’s core values of justice and human decency.
Newsom, who imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019, said the imperfect legal system cannot sustain capital punishment without violating fundamental principles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
