November 1, 2026
Gov. DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Ricardo “Ricky” Gonzalez, setting his execution for December 1, 2026 at 6pm. Mr. Gonzalez was sentenced to death by a non-unanimous jury vote for the 1992 murder of Officer Steven Bauer in Miami-Dade County. If the currently scheduled executions of Jesse Guardado and Thomas Overton take place, Mr. Gonzalez could be the 21st person executed in Florida this year. Please sign his petition now, and stay tuned for more action steps soon.
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Dear friends,
The clocks turned back today, and darkness has come earlier tonight. In Florida, our government is giving us another reason to dread the days ahead: This Thursday, November 5, the state plans to execute Jesse Guardado, tying last year’s record of 19 executions. A record that should have prompted reckoning has instead become a pace to maintain.
Jesse survived the Dozier School for Boys, where Florida entrusted children to people who brutalized them. That experience shaped the rest of Jesse’s life, and contributed to the substance use disorder he was suffering from on the day he killed Jackie Malone. Since contacting police and confessing to the murder, he has consistently expressed deep remorse and accepted responsibility for the harm he caused. Jesse Guardado takes accountability for his actions. Florida should take accountability for its actions, too.
Florida plans to execute Jesse this Thursday and fellow Dozier survivor Thomas Overton on November 19. Florida cannot undo what happened to these boys in its custody, but it can choose to stop killing the men they became. Gov. DeSantis has the power to spare their lives. Instead, as mentioned above, he has signed another death warrant, this time for Ricky Gonzalez.
Please take action for Jesse below, and make plans to join us outside Florida State Prison, in your own community, or online on Thursday. Every vigil, protest, and message to the governor challenges the idea that Floridians accept this relentless killing.
Onward,
The FADP Team
Thomas Overton (Execution 11/19)
Florida plans to execute Thomas Overton on November 19 despite a credible claim of innocence and a story so outrageous it sounds invented. According to his court filing, a veterinarian with just a two-week serology course took the victims’ sheets home and cut pieces out for his own undisclosed purposes, while police handed evidence over to a psychic who handled it without gloves. Now the state wants to carry out an irreversible punishment in a case riddled with questions, full of evidence of police misconduct, and plenty of moments that make you say “huh?” Read more about Thomas’s case and why we’re fighting to stop his execution here, and then sign his petition before Florida carries out his execution in less than 3 weeks.
FSU Symposium (11/13)
In just 12 days, some of the world’s leading authorities will descend upon Tallahassee for the International Human Rights and the Death Penalty Symposium at the Florida State University College of Law. People like Sister Helen Prejean, former Mongolian president Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, law professor Corinna Barrett Lain, and Florida death row exoneree Joaquín José Martínez will be there — and you can too!
There’s still time to make plans to join us in-person in Tallahassee, or block your calendar and join us via Zoom. All the information you need is available on the symposium’s official website. Please note that attendees must RSVP in advance of the event.