Killer's last words before being executed for killing homecoming queen
A death row inmate received a lethal injection more than three decades after raping and killing a former homecoming queen who cared for the homeless.
Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, used his last words to repent for slaying Michelle McGrath in 1994, and made a reference to Jesus while strapped to a gurney at the Florida State Prison near Starke. He did not meet with a spiritual adviser.
As the drugs entered his system through an IV in his left arm, Gudinas' eyes rolled back and he had some chest convulsions. His face began to lose its color and he rested motionless.
He was pronounced dead at 6.13pm on Tuesday, according to Governor Ron DeSantis' spokesman Bryan Griffin.
Gudinas only had one visitor, who was his mother.
McGrath was Barbarella's bar just before 3am on May 24, 1994, before she vanished.
Gudinas was at the same bar with some friends the night before. An employee at a nearby school discovered McGrath's body in an alley hours after she disappeared and claimed to see Gudinas fleeing the area moments before.
McGrath's body had signs of sexual assault and severe trauma.
Gudinas was convicted of killing McGrath and sentenced to death in 1995.
Gudinas was the seventh inmate to be executed in Florida so far this year, and the 24th in the US. More Trending
Florida has put more people to death this year than any other state.
'Our staff are doing a fantastic job keeping up with the pace of these executions,' stated Department of Corrections spokesman Ted Veerman on Tuesday.
'And we are going through with these in a professional manner.'
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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Telegraph
21 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Thanks to the humbling of Iran, a new reshaped, peaceful Middle East is within our grasp
Several years ago, I stood at the northernmost tip of Israel, just behind the border with Lebanon. A pale-grey concrete wall divided the two countries. Just a few yards away, on the other side, a road snaked into the distance. It turned sharp right, then left, a physical manifestation of the absurdity of the arbitrary lines drawn across the dun-coloured scrubland. A blue road sign was clearly visible, indicating the way to Beirut, and a stream of cars headed up the Lebanese coast. Behind us, in Israel, were the green fields of a border kibbutz. On the other side, the hills were dotted with large, multi-storey villas, shimmering in the heat. For a moment, I imagined that the frontier was open, that it was possible to drive north from Tel Aviv to Tyre, Sidon and then Beirut. Back in the 1960s, the Lebanese capital was a smart, sophisticated city, renowned for its glamorous nightlife and known as the Paris of the Middle East. It's still one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Levant, and would be a natural tourism partner for Tel Aviv. A few yards behind us was one key reason that has not happened yet. Operatives for Hezbollah, the Shi'ite terrorist organisation that controls much of southern Lebanon, had dug a tunnel under the fence. The tunnel had been discovered a few yards inside Israeli territory and blocked up. There was little doubt that had the Hezbollah operatives succeeded in infiltrating, they would have carried out atrocities such as those committed by Hamas on October 7. Hamas documents captured during the Gaza war, published by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, in Israel, outline a plan for a joint Hamas-Hezbollah onslaught on Israel, together with militias from other Arab states, co-ordinated with Iran. For now, at least, such an attack is much less likely. America's bunker-buster bombs not only destroyed – or severely damaged – Iran's nuclear capabilities, but also its power as regional hegemon. Hezbollah, Iran's client terrorist militia in southern Lebanon, had already been crippled by Israel's audacious 'beeper' operation, which killed or wounded thousands of operatives. Hamas, also a client of Tehran, is still killing Israeli soldiers in Gaza, but will soon be written out of any future peace settlement, its leaders likely exiled and living in hiding for the rest of their lives. As the dust settles over Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz, Iran's nuclear sites, the contours of a new Middle East can be glimpsed. Far in the distance, perhaps, but visible none the less. Much of the Middle East's current woes can be traced back to the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, which carved up the dying Ottoman empire into areas of British and French control. The British zone, for example, included much of Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq, while France was granted what became Syria and Lebanon. After the Second World War, when the Western powers retreated, unitary nation-states were imposed on multi-ethnic societies with little sense of national identity. Minorities, fearful for their future, took control and instituted reigns of terror. The Assad dynasty in Syria was Alawite. Saddam Hussein in Iraq was a Sunni Muslim. The Kurds, spread across the region, were denied any kind of state. Yet even if the borders of the Arab states are not redrawn, Sykes-Picot and its legacy are not immutable. An autonomous de facto Kurdistan exists in part of north-eastern Iraq, with its own elected parliament and government. Shimon Peres, the late veteran Israeli statesman, once proposed a 'Jordanian option', where Israel, a Palestinian entity and Jordan would form a confederation, with open borders, free movement internally and shared institutions. The European Union, where open borders and free trade have largely rendered old territorial disputes irrelevant, could offer a model for a new Middle East. The Abraham Accords, between Israel and several Arab countries, most notably the United Arab Emirates, provide a foundation for a future regional settlement. The UAE is reportedly already mediating secret talks between Syria and Israel. The way is clearing for a gradual opening of diplomatic and economic relations. Where Syria goes, Lebanon will soon follow. Saudi Arabia's accession to the accords is regarded in Jerusalem as the greatest prize. Normalisation with Israel's immediate neighbours would bring rapid economic benefits for all parties. Shared tourism could bring substantial investment to Jerusalem, Damascus and Beirut. Such a vision, of a Middle East with open borders and modern transport links, where Israel and its neighbours trade freely, may still seem remote. There remains widespread anger in Arab countries about the devastation in Gaza. Islamist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood, resolutely opposed to any normalisation with the Jewish state, remain influential. In public, Arab leaders have condemned Israel's attack on Iran, even though the theocracy also menaced its neighbours, such as Saudi Arabia. But in private, there is widespread relief that the ayatollahs have been severely weakened, and their client terrorist movements disabled. Before the 1948 war, after Israel declared independence, taxis would go back and forth from Clock Tower Square in Jaffa to Beirut. Nowadays, such a journey still seems fanciful – but less so by the day. The potential rewards of normalisation for Israel and its neighbours are enormous. As Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism, wrote of his own plan for a Jewish state: 'If you will it, it is no dream.'
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Struggling in politics? Consider a war – the media will help
'You furnish the pictures. I'll furnish the war,' was the storied response of the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst to Frederic Remington after the illustrator was sent to Cuba to cover an insurrection and cabled back to the boss that there was little going on. Much has changed since that famous (if true) exchange of the late 19th century, in the heyday of sensationalism known as yellow journalism. But one thing that hasn't changed is that there's nothing like military conflict to capture the attention of the public, with plenty of help from the media. And the media – whether a tabloid newspaper or a cable news network – benefits, too. These days, Donald Trump's recent strike on Iran has proved the point once again, with the media's attention intensely focused on Operation Midnight Hammer, as it was dramatically dubbed. First the emphasis was on the threat of attacks to Iran's budding nuclear arsenal, then on the possibility of all-out global war, then on the strikes themselves and then the announcement of a supposed ceasefire. All to the greater glory of Trump, at least as he tells it. For those who are trying to bring public attention to other important matters – even matters of life and death – that's a frustrating reality. Jennifer Mascia knows this all too well. She is a founding reporter for the Trace, a non-profit news site dedicated to tracking the epidemic of gun violence in America and trying to do something about it, through exploring solutions. When elected officials in Minnesota were shot earlier this month – the former state House speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed, and the state legislator John Hoffman and his wife were wounded – it was a huge story. Huge, but fleeting. 'Pitted against a global conflict, domestic news doesn't really stand a chance,' said Mascia, who previously contributed to the now-defunct Gun Report at the New York Times, begun by the then columnist Joe Nocera. That's true for domestic news that, in an earlier era, would have commanded the media's attention for many days, if not weeks. The Minnesota violence was even more newsworthy because of an early manhunt and disinformation swirling around the apparent assassin's political leanings. Still, coverage seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye. 'The Trump era has all but ensured that important news will get smacked out of the news cycle in favor of the latest development in Trumpworld,' Mascia wrote to me in an email, after we had talked by phone. Mascia is quick to clarify that she's not suggesting that the media ignore what the chaotic president is doing. 'It's important that we cover Trump's constitutional breaches. We shouldn't become numb or complacent in the face of eroding democracy,' she said. But it was remarkable to see how quickly the Minnesota shootings faded from media attention. A CNN contributor herself, Mascia is often called in to provide perspective for 'Day Two' of coverage after the initial reporting of gun-related news. But often these days, she notes, there is no Day Two. By then, the media has moved on. 'Maybe if the Israel-Iran war wasn't going on, we'd still be talking about it,' she said. 'Anderson Cooper would be broadcasting from Melissa Hortman's funeral. But instead, he's in Tel Aviv.' And, of course, this extends to all sorts of other subjects, not just gun violence. Those who try to focus attention on voting rights, the rule of law, crucial supreme court decisions, widespread citizen action such as the vast 'No Kings' protests – to mention just a few – may get a modicum of attention. But nothing compares to a show of military force. And Trump, always attuned to how he's being perceived, is well aware of that. 'A spectacular military success,' he crowed after the strikes. 'A historic success,' echoed his defense secretary. Pete Hegseth couldn't countenance being asked actual questions and claimed the press was trying to distort the story 'for their own political reasons to try to hurt President Trump or our country'. Was the administration's bragging accurate? Perhaps not, said intelligence reports that indicated the strikes may have only added months to the time Iran needs to produce the material for a nuclear weapon. But no matter. The strikes – from the lead-up to the aftermath – sucked up all the oxygen in the media universe for many days. Even by Thursday early afternoon, the top four news articles (plus one photo) on the Washington Post mobile app, for example, were Iran-related. And Fox News, of course, remained largely a cheering section. Whatever the effect on world peace, military conflict sure is good for ratings, as William Randolph Hearst knew in his bones. 'Historians point to the Spanish-American war as the first press-driven war,' noted a PBS article accompanying the film Crucible of Empire. It wouldn't be the last. Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Iran using social media to recruit spies ‘at scale'
Social media platforms are being widely used by intelligence services across the Middle East to recruit spies, counter-intelligence specialists have said. The platforms, which unlike traditional media are not generally liable for the content they publish, are being exploited by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to ensnare vulnerable Israelis like 'sardines', said a former Israeli spy chief. Iranian authorities in turn allege that Israeli intelligence services are using Persian-language social media platforms to recruit and gather intelligence from Iranian citizens. 'The b------s have infiltrated everywhere,' an Iranian official told The Telegraph this week. Israeli police and Shin Bet internal security agents arrested three Israelis suspected of spying on Iran's behalf last week – the latest in a string of espionage incidents linked to the Islamic Republic over the past two years. The three had no known connection to one another and are said, like dozens of others, to have been recruited via social media. One of the suspects, Dmitri Cohen, a 28-year-old from Haifa, gathered intelligence on the future daughter-in-law of Benjamin Netanyahu, local media reported last Monday. The wedding of Avner Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister's son, and Amit Yardeni, his partner, was supposed to have taken place two weeks ago but was postponed following the outbreak of open conflict with Iran. Talking to The Telegraph on Friday, Oded Ailam, a former head of the counter-terrorism division of the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence agency, said Iran had adopted a 'new concept' in spy recruitment, which targeted tens of thousands of Israelis via social media. Historically, spymasters of the 'Le Carré mould' would spend months, sometimes years, identifying potential recruits. However, social media platforms have allowed Iran to turn recruitment into a 'numbers game,' said Mr Ailam, who spent 24 years in the Mossad and is now a researcher at the Jerusalem Centre for Security and Foreign Affairs. 'Their concept, their basic concept, is big numbers,' he said. 'They say, 'OK, we are going to approach 10,000 different targets, in Israel or abroad'. Out of the 10,000 targets, maybe 30 per cent will respond to the initial approach, and from that maybe 10 per cent will be willing to move forward, and 2 to 5 per cent will say 'yes'.' He added: 'It's big numbers; statistics rather than pinpoint. In that sense, you are not a fisherman. You are a hunter … they're not going after sharks. They're going after sardines.' Mr Ailam, who learnt his trade-craft in the old school, warned that the dragnet concept was 'primitive' but a real threat. It was 'cheap and cost-effective' and the Iranians did not worry about failure because they were not concerned about diplomatic blowback, he said. Targets were normally Jewish immigrants to Israel from lower socio-economic groups who did not have an 'ideological affiliation to Israel' and needed money, he added. Mr Ailam warned that, once ensnared in conversation on social media, the 'ladder was quick' and the chances of being caught 'enormous' because of the digital trail that social media leaves. 'It's instant, it's fast food … the assets are dispensable. The Iranians don't care if [the] asset is caught. They don't even care if he double crossed them … it's just numbers,' he said. There was an element of grooming, he said, adding: 'They start with soft assignments, just to see, to feel the guy, to see whether he's willing to cross online. It usually starts with graffiti, against Netanyahu or against whatever. Then it starts with small sabotage of puncturing [tyres] and stuff like this. 'They go from the soft one to the harder one, and then it goes to actually providing intelligence on Israeli bases, Israeli strategic places, and even the assassination of Israelis.' Mr Ailam said he had no doubt that those recruited know what they are getting into but that clever defence lawyers were muddying the water at trials and court sentences were too lenient at seven years on average, reduced by 30 per cent for good behaviour. 'We face an existential crisis … [but] the court is looking on those poor, miserable people who are standing in front of them with their head down and saying, 'I'm sorry. I didn't know' … they buy this bulls---,' he said. But at least Israel has due process and a transparent legal system. In Iran, the security forces arrested more than 700 people accused of various forms of collaboration with Israeli intelligence services during the recent 12-day conflict alone, and executed at least six people that they alleged were spies. Three men – Idris Aali, Azad Shojaei and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul – were executed at dawn at Urmia prison on charges of 'corruption on Earth through cooperation with hostile foreign states in favour of Israel', according to state media. Iranian officials also reported the execution of Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shaysteh, described as 'the leader of a cyber network linked to Mossad,' last Monday. An Iranian official told The Telegraph: 'There's a lot of concern, which is why they had cut off the internet. Many of those who had been working with the enemy were still connected like that [through social media]. 'No one even thought they would become as reckless as to come and target everyone in their homes, but in the past day, they've arrested some people from within the IRGC itself. The b------s have infiltrated everywhere.' According to Iranian security officials, Israeli intelligence services are using Persian-language social media platforms to recruit spies and gather intelligence from Iranian citizens. Iranian authorities say Israel's military Unit 8200, known for its cyber warfare capabilities, has intensified operations across Persian-language social media channels and messaging apps since the war between the two countries began. The unit creates fake accounts to pose as ordinary Iranians while seeking to collect sensitive information about military installations and government activities, according to Iranian media. 'These individuals establish fake accounts and present themselves as ordinary people while seeking to gather information,' an Iranian security official told the state-run Mehr news agency. The sophistication of Israel's social media espionage extends beyond simple intelligence gathering, they added. Iranian officials describe a methodical approach where Israeli operatives spend months or even years building authentic-looking online personas before activating them for intelligence purposes. 'Some of these fake accounts have been established for a long time and have undergone what we call identity building,' one security official said. 'They have had normal activity on Persian-language social networks for months to create a track record of activity so they can be recognised and trusted as ordinary citizens.' This patient approach allows Israeli intelligence to embed deeply within Iranian social media circles, gaining access to information that might be shared casually among trusted community members, it is claimed. The accounts often share cultural content, participate in discussions about daily life, and slowly build networks of followers who view them as legitimate Iranian citizens. Iranian authorities say they have documented cases where the operatives engage in seemingly normal conversations about local events, gradually steering discussions toward topics of intelligence value such as military movements, government facilities, or economic conditions. Beyond creating fake personas, Iranian officials say Mossad operatives hack accounts to directly message individual Iranian users on social networks, particularly Telegram. Iranian security services have warned citizens to 'never open links received from unknown accounts' and to immediately block any accounts that send unsolicited messages or links. Threatening text messages Iran's response has been swift and severe. Citizens reported receiving threatening text messages from the judiciary on the first day of a US-brokered ceasefire, warning they could face prosecution for 'following or joining pages affiliated with Israel'. The authorities have warned about espionage risks from Meta applications, including WhatsApp and Facebook, urging citizens to be aware that 'the results of information gathering by the Zionist regime could lead to assassination, bombing, or new crimes against Iran.' Others suspect the Iranian crackdown has more to do with stifling internal descent than genuine fears over spying. Legal experts have criticised the threats to Iranian citizens as having 'no judicial or legal value' and designed primarily to 'create fear and terror and suppression' among the population. During the peak of the recent Israeli strikes, only 3 per cent of Iranians had access to the global internet, as some opposition groups outside Iran were calling for people to 'rise against the regime.' Iran has repeatedly cut internet access during major protests, using digital blackouts to hide the scale of violence against demonstrators and prevent documentation of human rights violations. The pattern emerged during fuel price protests in November 2019, when Iranian authorities implemented a near-total internet shutdown that lasted for days. During that blackout, security forces killed at least 304 protesters, according to Amnesty International, though the real death toll is believed to be much higher – some rights groups say the number is 1,500. The government used the same tactic during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests that erupted after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died while being held in custody by the morality police. In a post on its Persian-language X account on Thursday, the Mossad offered medical assistance to ordinary Iranian citizens hurt in the recent conflict, encouraging them to reach out via WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal for assistance. 'At this moment, the regime is focused on its senior percentages, not on caring for its citizens,' read the message. 'We stand with you and have formed a team of specialized doctors, including experts in cardiology, diabetes, pulmonary diseases, infectious diseases, oncology, as well as support for pregnant women and psychological support. 'All doctors speak Persian, and you can communicate with them in Persian or English. However, we suggest that you reach out to us via VPN [an online technology that masks the user's location]'.
