Rapist and killer finally repents as he's executed on death row 30 years later

A murderer was executed on death row today - more than 30 years after raping and killing a woman.

Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, finally repented moments before he was given the lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Gudinas died within 14 minutes of the jab, becoming the seventh person to be put to death in Florida alone this year.

His final words were largely inaudible but Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, said the sex attacker repented and made a reference to Jesus. The drugs were administered and Gudinas' eyes began to roll back and he underwent slight chest convulsions. He lost colour in his face and went still after several minutes.

Gudinas was convicted in 1995 of the rape and killing of Michelle McGrath. A court heard the young woman's body, showing evidence of serious trauma and sexual assault, was found in an alley near a school in the early hours of May 24, 1994. It is understood Gudinas met Ms McGrath in or outside a bar in Orlando, Florida, minutes before the heinous attack.

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An eighth execution is scheduled in Florida in July. The state also executed six people in 2023, but only carried out one execution last year. A total of 24 men have been put to death in the US this year, with scheduled executions set to make 2025 the year with the most executions since 2015.

Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, while Texas and South Carolina are tied for second place with four each. Alabama has executed three people, Oklahoma two, and Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana and Tennessee each have one. Mississippi is set to join the other states on Wednesday with its first execution since 2022.

Despite the increased frequency of executions this year, Department of Corrections spokesman Ted Veerman said there’s been no significant operational strain. He said yesterday: "Our staff are doing a fantastic job keeping up with the pace of these executions. We are going through with these in a professional manner."

The latest case saw attorneys for Gudinas file appeals with the Florida Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court but those were rejected. The lawyers had argued in their state filing that evidence related to "lifelong mental illnesses" exempted Gudinas from being put to death.

But the Florida Supreme Court denied the appeals last week, ruling that the case law that shields intellectually disabled people from execution does not apply to individuals with other forms of mental illness or brain damage.