Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a letter on Thursday (October 8th) officially withdrawing the execution order for a death row inmate. However, he did not explain why he made this decision.
The 74-year-old death row inmate, William Lee Thompson, was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection next Tuesday (October 13th). This is the first time in DeSantis’s nearly eight years in office that he has withdrawn a death penalty execution order.
While DeSantis has approved executions during his tenure, he did not provide a reason for withdrawing the death penalty order. Just a week prior (September 30th), the failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee drew national attention as lethal injection was also used in that case.
Pike, 50, did not die after being injected with two doses of lethal injection, sparking immediate news coverage. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has suspended all executions in the state until the end of the year and has commissioned a third-party investigation into the incident.
Pike was hospitalized for treatment on September 30th. By this Tuesday, she had regained consciousness and started talking. By Thursday, she was able to walk around the hospital, although her arm injuries remain serious.
Thompson was sentenced to death for the 1976 kidnapping and murder of Sally Ivester. Thompson’s lawyer has stated that he currently suffers from severe dementia and is not fit for execution. Last month, DeSantis temporarily postponed his execution citing the need for a mental evaluation.
The second scheduled execution in Florida for next Tuesday will proceed as planned. The defendant in that case is 63-year-old James Robertson, convicted of first-degree murder for the 2008 killing of his cellmate, Frank Hart.