DeSantis Withdraws Death Warrant for William Lee Thompson
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has withdrawn the death warrant for 74-year-old death row inmate William Lee Thompson, marking the first time the governor has taken such an action during his nearly eight years in office. Thompson had been scheduled for execution by lethal injection. Governor DeSantis did not provide an explicit reason for the cancellation in his letter to Florida State Prison Warden Randall Polk. [1] [2]
Health Concerns and Dementia Diagnosis Raised by Defense
The cancellation followed reports from defense attorneys and death penalty opponents stating that Thompson suffers from severe health issues, including heart failure and advanced dementia. Grace Hanna, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, stated that legal counsel informed the governor that Thompson lacked the mental capacity to understand his execution, noting he did not know where he was and believed George Bush was still president. Following a request from defense counsel, DeSantis had previously commissioned a three-member panel of psychiatrists to examine Thompson's mental condition. State officials did not publicly release the findings of that evaluation. [1] [2]
Broader Context and Remaining Executions
Thompson was originally sentenced to death following his conviction for the 1976 kidnapping, robbery, and murder of Sally Ivester in Dade County. While Thompson's execution was called off, a second execution scheduled in Florida for 63-year-old James Robertson—who was condemned for the 2008 murder of a fellow inmate and waived his appeals—was still set to proceed. The withdrawal in Florida also coincides with heightened national and international scrutiny regarding capital punishment following a recent botched execution in Tennessee involving Christa Pike. Thompson remains on death row, and state officials have not ruled out the possibility of signing a new death warrant in the future. [1] [2]
Sources
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis cancels execution of 74-year-old man convicted in Miami-Dade murder — 2026-10-09T11:36:00-0400
- Florida execution called off after DeSantis withdraws death warrant for first time — 2026-10-09T17:32:18.000Z