DeSantis withdraws death warrant for inmate scheduled for Tuesday execution
By Associated Press
October 9, 2026 at 11:07 AM EDT
In a Sept. 17 order, Gov. Ron DeSantis commissioned a panel of psychiatrists to examine William Lee Thompson's mental condition, noting that counsel alleged “Thompson may be insane.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis has withdrawn a death warrant for the first time since taking office, calling off a man’s execution just days before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection in the nation’s busiest death chamber.
The Republican governor, who has aggressively used the death penalty in his final term, signed a letter Thursday withdrawing the death warrant for William Lee Thompson. The 74-year-old inmate had been set to die Tuesday for the murder and kidnapping of Sally Ivester in 1976.
A second Florida execution scheduled for the same day is still set to take place. James Robertson, 63, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and waived all appeals in the 2008 strangling of Frank Hart while the men were cellmates at Charlotte Correctional Institution. Robertson told investigators he killed the other man so he could be moved to death row.
ALSO READ: DeSantis sets October execution date for man convicted of 1976 North Miami murder
DeSantis did not provide a reason in the letter for withdrawing Thompson's death warrant but had temporarily stayed his execution last month pending a psychiatric evaluation.
Less than a week after issuing the warrant for Thompson, DeSantis commissioned a three-member panel of psychiatrists to examine his mental condition, noting in that Sept. 17 executive order (26-192) that counsel alleged “Thompson may be insane.”
“Counsel for William Lee Thompson asserts that a neuropsychologist met with Mr. Thompson on (Sept. 15) and that said 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’,” DeSantis stated in the executive order.
ALSO READ: DeSantis signs warrant for record 20th execution in Florida this year
The panel was to conduct its examination on Oct. 1 and report its findings the next day.
Hours before DeSantis’ action on Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court denied Thompson's motion for a stay.
Thompson's attorney, Bri Lacy, said they're relieved by the result.
“Mr. Thompson suffers from dementia and his health is failing — both of which were gravely concerning with an impending execution,” Lacy said in an email. “Now that Mr. Thompson is no longer under a death warrant, we hope FDOC (Florida Department of Corrections) will relocate him to an adequate medical facility and provide the care he needs.”
The move comes at a time of escalating attention on the death penalty in the U.S.
In Tennessee, Christa Pike survived an execution attempt last week despite receiving two lethal doses of pentobarbital. On Thursday, the Pentagon announced that the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan would be livestreamed.
ALSO READ: Christa Pike is walking with help and eating after failed execution attempt
Thompson will remain on Florida's death row, and a new death warrant could be signed for him in the future.
A spokesperson for DeSantis did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Florida carried out 19 executions last year, a record in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. In July, Florida became the first state in nearly a decade to execute two prisoners in one day.
The Republican governor, who has aggressively used the death penalty in his final term, signed a letter Thursday withdrawing the death warrant for William Lee Thompson. The 74-year-old inmate had been set to die Tuesday for the murder and kidnapping of Sally Ivester in 1976.
A second Florida execution scheduled for the same day is still set to take place. James Robertson, 63, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and waived all appeals in the 2008 strangling of Frank Hart while the men were cellmates at Charlotte Correctional Institution. Robertson told investigators he killed the other man so he could be moved to death row.
ALSO READ: DeSantis sets October execution date for man convicted of 1976 North Miami murder
DeSantis did not provide a reason in the letter for withdrawing Thompson's death warrant but had temporarily stayed his execution last month pending a psychiatric evaluation.
Less than a week after issuing the warrant for Thompson, DeSantis commissioned a three-member panel of psychiatrists to examine his mental condition, noting in that Sept. 17 executive order (26-192) that counsel alleged “Thompson may be insane.”
“Counsel for William Lee Thompson asserts that a neuropsychologist met with Mr. Thompson on (Sept. 15) and that said 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’,” DeSantis stated in the executive order.
ALSO READ: DeSantis signs warrant for record 20th execution in Florida this year
The panel was to conduct its examination on Oct. 1 and report its findings the next day.
Hours before DeSantis’ action on Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court denied Thompson's motion for a stay.
Thompson's attorney, Bri Lacy, said they're relieved by the result.
“Mr. Thompson suffers from dementia and his health is failing — both of which were gravely concerning with an impending execution,” Lacy said in an email. “Now that Mr. Thompson is no longer under a death warrant, we hope FDOC (Florida Department of Corrections) will relocate him to an adequate medical facility and provide the care he needs.”
The move comes at a time of escalating attention on the death penalty in the U.S.
In Tennessee, Christa Pike survived an execution attempt last week despite receiving two lethal doses of pentobarbital. On Thursday, the Pentagon announced that the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan would be livestreamed.
ALSO READ: Christa Pike is walking with help and eating after failed execution attempt
Thompson will remain on Florida's death row, and a new death warrant could be signed for him in the future.
A spokesperson for DeSantis did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Florida carried out 19 executions last year, a record in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. In July, Florida became the first state in nearly a decade to execute two prisoners in one day.