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.

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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 signed a series of death warrants 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.

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The Sunshine State has also accounted for more than half of the 35 executions carried out nationwide, which includes Thursday's executions. In July, Florida executed two prisoners 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, "Michael’s life was proof that God isn’t finished with any of us. Tonight we pray that both families find peace, and we deeply mourn the loss of Michael."

Death penalty opponents had urged Republican Gov. Kay Ivey to commute Taylor's sentence to life in prison, arguing that he was too young and immature at 19 to fully understand the consequences of his actions.

But the governor declined to stop the execution. Ivey issued a statement on Thursday night describing his actions as "reprehensible."

"Thirty-five years ago yesterday, Ivan and Lucille Moore kindly opened their home to Michael Taylor. Mr. Taylor repaid the Moores by beating them to death with a metal bar, all to rob them for money to buy clothing and jewelry," she said.

The victims' family thanked the state attorney general's office for bringing closure to the case but expressed disappointment for having to wait 35 years to see the death sentence carried out.

"We know that a person has the right to appeal, but there should come a time when the jury’s decision is final. For all these years, our family has had to live with the waiting, the delays, and the uncertainty," the statement read. "We have never forgotten our loved ones or what was taken from us."

The executions come amid renewed scrutiny of lethal injection procedures following a failed execution attempt in Tennessee, where death row inmate Christa Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital and was rushed to a hospital in late September. She has since been released from the hospital and returned to prison.

Thursday's executions came on the same day California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he is seeking to commute all 548 death sentences in the Golden State to life without parole, though 382 of the commutations require a recommendation from the California Supreme Court, saying he believes "state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system, and diminishes each of us."

Newsom, who put a moratorium on executions in the state in 2019, said he "knew we cannot execute people in our imperfect legal system and remain true to our core values, the first among them justice and human decency."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.