Ron DeSantis Cancels Execution Days Before the Murderer Was Scheduled to Die.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suddenly cancelled the execution of 74‑year‑old William Lee Thompson just days before it was supposed to happen and, in classic fashion, offered absolutely no explanation. He signed the death warrant on Sept. 11, then quietly yanked it back.
Thompson has been on death row for nearly fifty years for the 1976 murder of Sally Ivester. He kidnapped Sally Ivester in a hotel and Sally told him she thought she could get $200 or $300 from her family, but was ultimately only able to secure $25 from her family.
It was the sudden shortfall between the hundreds of dollars promised and the $25 actually wire-transferred that enraged Thompson and , triggering the horrific and fatal assault.
Thompson’s first death sentence was overturned, but a jury later voted 7–5 to put him back on death row in 1989.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups have been pointing out that Thompson has an intellectual disability, was easily manipulated by his co‑defendant, and is now so cognitively gone he doesn’t know where he is, who the president is, or that he’s even on death row. In a recent evaluation, he reportedly thought that “Bush” was president when asked, which tells you everything you need to know about his mental state.
Despite all that, DeSantis issued a death warrant anyway… then, less than a week later, scrambled to assemble a three‑psychiatrist panel to figure out whether Thompson was legally insane. The findings? Never released. The execution? Abruptly cancelled.
Thompson’s attorney, Bri Lacy, said his dementia and failing health made the execution “gravely concerning,” and now that the warrant is gone, she hopes the Department of Corrections will finally move him somewhere that isn’t a death row cell.
And because Florida never does anything halfway, another execution is still scheduled for Oct. 13. It's James Robertson, who pleaded guilty to murdering his cellmate in 2008.
https://people.com/ron-desantis-cancels-...e-12167768
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suddenly cancelled the execution of 74‑year‑old William Lee Thompson just days before it was supposed to happen and, in classic fashion, offered absolutely no explanation. He signed the death warrant on Sept. 11, then quietly yanked it back.
Thompson has been on death row for nearly fifty years for the 1976 murder of Sally Ivester. He kidnapped Sally Ivester in a hotel and Sally told him she thought she could get $200 or $300 from her family, but was ultimately only able to secure $25 from her family.
It was the sudden shortfall between the hundreds of dollars promised and the $25 actually wire-transferred that enraged Thompson and , triggering the horrific and fatal assault.
Thompson’s first death sentence was overturned, but a jury later voted 7–5 to put him back on death row in 1989.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups have been pointing out that Thompson has an intellectual disability, was easily manipulated by his co‑defendant, and is now so cognitively gone he doesn’t know where he is, who the president is, or that he’s even on death row. In a recent evaluation, he reportedly thought that “Bush” was president when asked, which tells you everything you need to know about his mental state.
Despite all that, DeSantis issued a death warrant anyway… then, less than a week later, scrambled to assemble a three‑psychiatrist panel to figure out whether Thompson was legally insane. The findings? Never released. The execution? Abruptly cancelled.
Thompson’s attorney, Bri Lacy, said his dementia and failing health made the execution “gravely concerning,” and now that the warrant is gone, she hopes the Department of Corrections will finally move him somewhere that isn’t a death row cell.
And because Florida never does anything halfway, another execution is still scheduled for Oct. 13. It's James Robertson, who pleaded guilty to murdering his cellmate in 2008.
https://people.com/ron-desantis-cancels-...e-12167768
