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DeSantis Withdraws Death Warrant for Florida Inmate Over Dementia Concerns

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Official portrait of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at an unknown date.
Image credit: Government of Florida · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

In brief

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew the death warrant for 74-year-old death row inmate William Lee Thompson on October 9, 2026, days before Thompson's scheduled execution. The move followed a neuropsychologist's finding that Thompson, who believed "Bush" was president, lacked the mental capacity to understand his impending execution. It is the first time DeSantis has withdrawn a death warrant since taking office.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew the death warrant for William Lee Thompson on October 9, 2026, roughly a week before the 74-year-old was scheduled to be put to death. State officials gave no written reason for the decision, according to Fox13 News and the Florida Trident.

Thompson had been set to die by lethal injection on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, the same day Florida planned to execute a second inmate, James Robertson, hours earlier, according to the Florida Trident and Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP). Such a same-day double execution would have been the second of its kind in Florida in 2026 alone — a practice that, according to the Florida Trident, had not occurred in the state for roughly six decades before this year.

Why the warrant was pulled

DeSantis signed Thompson's death warrant on September 11, 2026. Days later, Thompson's attorneys told the governor's office they believed he was not mentally competent to be executed. A neuropsychologist's evaluation dated September 15 found Thompson showed what the Florida Trident described as a "profound level" of cognitive impairment: he did not know where he was, said he believed "Bush" was president, and at times did not recognize he had been sentenced to death, according to Fox13 News.

DeSantis responded by temporarily staying the execution and, under Executive Order 26-192, appointing a three-member psychiatric panel — Wade Myers, Tonia Werner and Emily Lazarou — to assess Thompson's legal sanity, the Florida Trident reported. The panel examined Thompson on October 1. State officials have not released the panel's findings or explained what role they played in the governor's decision to withdraw the warrant entirely, according to Fox13 News and the Florida Trident.

Thompson's attorney, Bri Lacy, said in a statement reported by ABC News: "Mr. Thompson suffers from dementia and his health is failing — both of which were gravely concerning with an impending execution." FADP said Thompson's legal team had also filed federal litigation seeking medical treatment for him and had gathered support from more than 120 medical professionals who opposed carrying out the execution given his physical condition.

The 1976 crime

Thompson was convicted in the March 30, 1976, murder of Sally Ivester in a Miami-Dade motel room. According to court records cited by Fox13 News, Thompson and co-defendant Rocco Surace directed Ivester and another woman to obtain money; when Ivester could only produce $25, she was beaten with a chain-link belt, assaulted with a nightstick and a chair leg, and burned with cigarettes and a lighter. She died of internal bleeding and multiple injuries.

The case has moved through decades of appeals: a 1977 reversal by the Florida Supreme Court, a second guilty plea in 1978, and a 1989 resentencing in which a jury voted 7-5 in favor of death, Fox13 News reported.

What happens now

Thompson remains on Florida's death row. ABC News and FADP both reported that DeSantis could sign a new death warrant for Thompson in the future; no new execution date has been set. Thompson's attorney said she hopes the Florida Department of Corrections will move him to a facility equipped to handle his medical needs, according to ABC News.

FADP said three other Florida executions remained scheduled as of October 9: James Robertson on October 13, William Reaves on October 20, and Jesse Guardado on November 5.

A record year for executions

The withdrawal interrupts what has been a record pace of executions under DeSantis. With Guardado's case, DeSantis has now signed 20 death warrants in 2026, which would surpass the 19 executions Florida carried out in 2025 — already the most in a single year since the state resumed capital punishment in 1976 — according to CBS Miami.

Questions

Who is William Lee Thompson?
Thompson is a 74-year-old Florida death row inmate convicted in the 1976 murder of Sally Ivester in a Miami-Dade motel, according to Fox13 News.
Why did DeSantis withdraw the death warrant?
Thompson's attorneys raised concerns that he was not mentally competent to be executed; a neuropsychologist found he did not know where he was and believed "Bush" was president. DeSantis withdrew the warrant without publicly stating a reason, according to Fox13 News and the Florida Trident.
Has DeSantis withdrawn a death warrant before?
No. ABC News and Fox13 News both reported this is the first time DeSantis has withdrawn a death warrant since taking office.
Will Thompson still be executed?
It is unknown. Thompson remains on death row, and officials have not said whether or when a new death warrant might be issued, according to ABC News and FADP.
How many executions has Florida carried out in 2026?
As of Thompson's withdrawal, DeSantis had signed 20 death warrants for 2026, which would exceed the state's 2025 record of 19 executions, according to CBS Miami.

Sources

  1. Fox13 News — DeSantis cancels execution of Florida inmate claiming dementia
  2. Florida Trident — Week before man's scheduled execution, Florida won't say if he's fit to die
  3. ABC News (wire) — Florida execution called off after DeSantis withdraws death warrant for the first time
  4. Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty — Death Warrant for William Thompson Withdrawn, 3 Executions Remain Scheduled
  5. CBS News Miami — Gov. DeSantis signs 20th warrant of 2026, putting Florida on pace to break execution record

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