A federal appeals court has upheld the death sentence of Jesse Guardado, who brutally murdered 75-year-old Jackie Malone in 2004 during a crack-cocaine binge. The court rejected Guardado’s claims of ineffective counsel during the penalty phase of his trial. Guardado, now 62, pleaded guilty to the murder, but argued that his attorneys failed to adequately investigate and present mitigating evidence that could have led to a life sentence instead of death. He also claimed his attorneys did not properly challenge three jurors during the penalty phase. Read: Judge Rejects Dozier Abuse Claim, Uphold…