Florida has scheduled Thomas Gudinas for execution on June 24, 2025 for the 1994 murder of Michelle McGrath. This is the 7th death warrant signed by Gov. DeSantis this year - surpassing his record of 6 in 2023.

Join the Virtual Sit In

Call Gov. DeSantis at 850-717-9210 with the following message:

"Hi. My name is [your name]. I am calling to express my deep concern that the State of Florida is about to execute Tommy Gudinas, a man whose life was shattered long before he ever caused harm. His life was shaped by relentless trauma, brain damage, and severe, lifelong mental illness. As a child he was dragged between 105 different foster placements never receiving the long-term stability experts said he desperately needed. I call on Gov. DeSantis to STOP the scheduled execution of Tommy Gudinas."

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From our friends at Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty:

Tommy has lived a life shaped by relentless trauma, brain damage, and severe mental illness—long before he ever came into contact with the criminal legal system. He was born with fluid in his brain and hospitalized repeatedly before his first birthday. He endured horrific abuse throughout childhood, was diagnosed with psychiatric disorders as a young boy, and was institutionalized in 105 different foster placements. Tommy never received the long-term mental health care experts said he desperately needed.  

At age 20, Tommy was convicted of the murder of  Michelle McGrath and sentenced to death. But his trial was riddled with failures: including critical mitigating evidence withheld, and no explanation to his jury about his profound neurological impairments or developmental trauma. A recent neuropsychological evaluation reveals that Tommy suffers from frontal lobe dysfunction, fixed delusions, and severely impaired executive functioning—all of which diminish his culpability and raise serious concerns about his current mental state and begs the question: should we really be killing someone so ill? Especially when they can be safely housed for the remainder of their natural life.  

Tommy’s life was shattered long before he ever caused harm. Florida is now preparing to execute a man whose life has been defined by abandonment, abuse, and mental illness. This is not justice—it’s a failure of every system that could have helped him. We are not asking for release. We are asking for mercy. A sentence of life without parole would ensure Tommy is held accountable while ending the cycle of violence.

We believe in accountability, but true accountability does not require execution. A sentence of life without the possibility of parole protects society while also recognizing the human capacity for redemption and the role of childhood trauma in shaping adult behavior.

Florida does not need the death penalty to be safe. This execution will not make us safer, it will simply add another act of violence to an already tragic story. Justice does not require death. Florida's continued use of executions marks the state as an outlier in its use of the death penalty. The majority of other states are on a downward trend of executions.

Please sign the petition asking Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida State Board of Executive Clemency to do everything within their power to stop this execution, including issuing a stay, and seeking a path to clemency in the case.