Florida execution called off after DeSantis withdraws death warrant for the first time

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has withdrawn the death warrant for William Lee Thompson, marking the first time such an action has been taken during his tenure, according to a report by the Associated Press. The 74-year-old inmate had been set to be executed by lethal injection, making him one of the first to face the nation's busiest death chamber in days.

Thompson was slated for execution on Tuesday, 2023, for the murder and kidnapping of Sally Ivester in 1976. A second execution, that of James Robertson, remains scheduled for the same day.

Robertson, 63, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the 2008 strangling of Frank Hart, who was his cellmate at Charlotte Correctional Institution, north of Fort Myers. Robertson had claimed he killed Hart to be transferred to death row. DeSantis issued a letter withdrawing Thompson's death warrant without providing a reason but had previously stayed Thompson's execution last month for a psychiatric evaluation. However, prison officials had been preparing for Thompson's potential execution next week.

Thompson's attorney, Bri Lacy, expressed relief at the decision, citing Thompson's failing health and dementia as reasons why the execution should be halted. With Thompson no longer under a death warrant, Lacy hopes that Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) will relocate him to a suitable medical facility and provide him with necessary care.

This decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of the death penalty in the United States. Last week, Christa Pike narrowly escaped an execution attempt in Tennessee after receiving two doses of pentobarbital. In another notable event, the Pentagon announced that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, would be livestreamed.

Thompson will continue to be held on Florida’s death row, with the possibility of future death warrants being issued. DeSantis' office has not yet provided a comment on the matter. In 2022, Florida led the nation with 19 executions, a record since the death penalty was reinstated in the state in 1976. In July, Florida executed two prisoners on the same day, a first in nearly a decade. David Fischer, from The Associated Press, covered the story.