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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rescinded the execution order for William Lee Thompson, citing defense claims of severe dementia and heart failure. James Robertson remains scheduled for execution.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has withdrawn the death warrant for 74-year-old inmate William Lee Thompson, who was scheduled to be executed on Tuesday. The decision, communicated in a letter to Florida State Prison Warden Randall Polk on Thursday afternoon, came amid reports from Thompson’s defense team that he suffers from severe health conditions, including heart failure and dementia.
Thompson’s counsel raised concerns about his physical and mental health shortly after DeSantis signed the death warrant on Sept. 11. In a Sept. 15 evaluation, a neuropsychologist reportedly found that Thompson lacked the mental capacity to understand his execution. According to the executive order, the neuropsychologist "opined that Mr. Thompson meets the criteria for insanity due to his dementia and significant cognitive decline as Mr. Thompson lacks the mental capacity to understand the fact of his impending execution and the reason for it."
Grace Hanna, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, stated that Thompson "did not know where he was, stated that 'Bush' was the president, and, at times, did not even recognize that he had been sentenced to death."
In response to these allegations, DeSantis issued Executive Order 26-192, creating a three-member panel of psychiatrists to evaluate whether Thompson was legally insane. The panel examined Thompson on Oct. 1 and was instructed to submit findings the following day. State officials have not released the results of this court-ordered psychiatric evaluation or explained why the governor withdrew the warrant.
The withdrawal occurred hours after the Florida Supreme Court rejected Thompson's request for a stay of execution. It remains unclear whether state officials will seek a new execution date or address Thompson's medical needs through civil court proceedings. Thompson's defense attorneys have filed a federal lawsuit seeking adequate medical treatment for his terminal and cognitive conditions.
The case has drawn attention to the physical challenges of executing elderly inmates. Hanna noted "growing international attention turned to the death penalty in the wake of Tennessee's failed execution of Christa Pike," a scenario she described as "realistic in Florida given Mr. Thompson's poor health and compromised veins." Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee halted executions and ordered an independent probe after state officials failed to execute Pike on Sept. 30.
According to court records, Thompson was convicted for the 1976 murder of Sally Ivester in Dade County. Thompson and co-defendant Rocco Surace were staying with Ivester and Barbara Savage in a motel room when they instructed the women to call their families for money. When Ivester could only obtain $25, she was beaten and burned until she died of internal bleeding and multiple injuries.
Thompson initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea to guilty for first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual battery in June 1976, receiving a death sentence. The Florida Supreme Court reversed this judgment in 1977. Thompson pleaded guilty again in September 1978 and received a second death sentence. After further legal appeals and a resentencing in 1989 where a jury voted 7-5 to recommend death, the sentence was reinstated. Co-defendant Surace, whose sentence was reduced to second-degree murder after Thompson claimed responsibility, died in prison in 1993.
The withdrawal of Thompson's death warrant highlights the legal and ethical complexities surrounding the execution of inmates with severe cognitive impairments. While the Florida Supreme Court denied a stay, the governor's executive action prevented the execution, leaving 63-year-old James Robertson as the sole inmate scheduled to die in Florida on Tuesday. Robertson was convicted of the 2008 murder of his cellmate, Frank Hart, at Charlotte Correctional Institution.
Sources
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