Florida Supreme Court rejects Jesse Guardado’s appeal and denies a stay a week before his scheduled execution

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, Oct. 29, upheld a Walton County circuit judge’s denial of Jesse Guardado’s latest postconviction motion and turned down his requests for a stay of execution and for oral argument. Guardado’s execution is set for Nov. 5, the court said.¹

The unsigned opinion said no motion for rehearing would be considered and ordered the mandate issued immediately. Chief Justice Couriel and Justices Muñiz, Grosshans, Francis and Barrios concurred, and Justice Labarga concurred in the result only.¹

Justice Tanenbaum concurred and wrote separately. In a one-paragraph concurrence, he said Florida’s expedited post-warrant procedure is meant for a rare meritorious late claim and does not excuse lawyers from the Florida Bar rule against raising issues that lack a nonfrivolous basis in law and fact.¹

The three claims

According to the opinion, Guardado’s motion, filed after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant on Oct. 5, raised three claims. The circuit court held a hearing on Oct. 14 and denied the motion without an evidentiary hearing on Oct. 19.¹

• Clemency: Guardado argued that Florida’s clemency process denies death-sentenced prisoners minimal due process, noting that clemency has not been granted to such a prisoner since 1983. The court held that he had received clemency review, citing language in the warrant stating that clemency was considered and found “not appropriate,” and that the governor’s discretion over clemency is not for the court to second-guess.
• Counsel: He argued that his lawyers at the penalty phase and in his first postconviction case failed to investigate and present mitigating evidence about his background. The court held the claims untimely and procedurally barred because their factual basis was available long before the warrant and could have been raised earlier.
• Warrant process: He argued that the 31-day warrant period denied him due process and fair access to counsel. The court said it has repeatedly rejected similar challenges and that he had not pointed to any issue on which he lacked notice or an opportunity to respond.¹

The case as the court describes it

The opinion says Guardado pleaded guilty, without a lawyer, to first-degree murder and robbery with a weapon in the September 2004 killing of Jackie Malone, 75, in her home. A jury unanimously recommended death, and the trial court imposed a death sentence; he also received a 30-year prison term on the robbery count. The court affirmed on direct appeal in 2007, and his later state and federal challenges were denied, most recently when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the federal case in 2025.¹

The execution count

The Associated Press and the News Service of Florida have given different counts. The AP reported on Oct. 20 that William Reaves’ execution that day was Florida’s 18th of 2026, that the state set its record of 19 executions in 2025, and that it would tie that mark if an execution scheduled for November is carried out. The AP named Guardado’s Nov. 5 execution as the next one scheduled.²

The News Service of Florida, reporting on Oct. 6 that the warrant had been signed, called it a record 20th death warrant this year and said Guardado would be the 20th person executed by the state this year. It reported that Guardado, 64, is to be executed at Florida State Prison.³

What the records do not show

• SignalData could not open the governor’s warrant, so the time of the execution is not confirmed; the date comes from the court’s opinion.
• SignalData could not open the Florida Supreme Court’s online docket and did not review the Department of Corrections’ execution list.
• No record reviewed explains why the AP and News Service counts differ, and SignalData has not made its own count.