Indiana, Florida and Alabama carry out rare US triple execution day
Indiana, Florida and Alabama carry out rare US triple execution day
Indiana, Florida and Alabama each put a man to death Thursday, the second time this year that three inmates were executed in the U.S. the same day.
The first triple execution this year took place Aug. 13, when Oklahoma, Tennessee and Alabama executed inmates within hours of each other. Before Aug. 13, the last time three executions were carried out in the U.S. on the same day was Jan. 7, 2010.
On Thursday, Indiana officials put to death the first inmate of the day when it executed Jeffrey Weisheit, 50, for setting a 2010 house fire that killed his girlfriend's two children, ages 8 and 5, as the couple's relationship deteriorated. He was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m. at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City after receiving a lethal injection.
His attorneys sought permission for additional brain scans, arguing that his history of head injuries and mental health problems warranted further examination. Republican Gov. Mike Braun denied the request. Braun also rejected appeals to commute Weisheit's death sentence to life in prison.
Weisheit's lawyers had also raised separate concerns about Indiana's planned use of execution drugs obtained from a pharmacy facing a disciplinary hearing before the Indiana Pharmacy Board next week.
But the Indiana Department of Correction maintained it was confident in its ability to carry out the execution "humanely." After the execution, Braun said Weisheit's case had undergone repeated reviews in state and federal courts.
"These reviews have never resulted in an overturned sentence," Braun said in a statement. "Today, Weisheit's sentence has been carried out as ordered by the court."
The execution provided "long-awaited justice for Alyssa Lynch and her brother Caleb, two innocent children whose lives were stolen in an act of unspeakable cruelty," Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said.
In Florida, Jesse Guardado, 64, was executed after confessing and pleading guilty to fatally stabbing a 75-year-old woman who had helped him find a job and housing in 2004. Guardado killed Jackie Malone inside her home before stealing her jewelry box, $80 and other items to fund his drug addiction.
Guardado was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.
Florida's latest execution matched last year's state record total of 19 inmates put to death in a single year.
Florida has ramped up executions after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis since 2025. The state's 19 executions last year was more than under any other Florida governor in a single year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Those executions accounted for roughly 40% of the 47 carried out nationwide in 2025.
FLORIDA PUTS 77-YEAR-OLD MAN TO DEATH FOR DEPUTY'S MURDER AS STATE CLOSES IN ON EXECUTION RECORD
The Sunshine State has also accounted for more than half of the 35 executions carried out nationwide, which includes Thursday's executions. In July, on the same day, the first double execution by a single state in nearly a decade.
Alabama capped off the triple execution day by putting Michael Taylor, 54, to death for the 1991 murders of an older couple who were beaten to death with a metal bar during a robbery inside their home. Authorities caught Taylor in Birmingham, about an hour away, with the victims' Cadillac.
Taylor was executed by lethal injection after a judge ruled against his attorneys' objections to the method. Taylor had previously requested execution by nitrogen gas, and his attorneys sought to preserve that choice.
His attorneys said he "knew the depth of the harm he caused" and "grieved it for the rest of his life." They also said he became a changed man while behind bars, saying, "Michaels life was proof that God isnt finished with any
