DeSantis Halts Execution of Death Row Inmate Due to Dementia Concerns

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis late Thursday withdrew the death warrant for 74-year-old William Lee Thompson, who was slated to be executed on October 13. The decision comes amid concerns about the inmate's cognitive state, with a forensic neuropsychologist determining that Thompson exhibits a "profound level" of cognitive impairment.

Thompson was convicted for the brutal 1976 torture-murder of 23-year-old Sally Ivester in Miami. Prosecutors stated that Thompson and an accomplice beat Ivester with chains, burned her with cigarettes, and assaulted her with a chair leg at a hotel. She died from shock and internal injuries.

Both Thompson and his accomplice pleaded guilty and were sentenced to death. However, they were granted new trials. Thompson again pleaded guilty and was re-sentenced to death in 1978. His accomplice received a 203-year sentence and died in prison in 1993.

Thompson, who has been housed on death watch, has recently required extensive hospital care for conditions including sepsis, heart failure, severe malnutrition, and bedsores. A neuropsychologist who evaluated him noted that Thompson appeared disoriented, expressed severe pain, and did not recognize he had been sentenced to death. The report indicated he was unable to demonstrate meaningful insight into his present condition.

Medical professionals at the prison also assessed Thompson, observing disorientation and a "change in mental status." He reportedly did not know who the current president was and was unable to verbally respond to a nurse's question.

Thompson's attorneys had sought to have him returned to a facility where he could receive adequate medical care. While the state initially denied this request, DeSantis subsequently issued a temporary stay of execution and commissioned an independent evaluation by three doctors. The conclusions of this second evaluation are not yet public.

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, an advocacy group, called the governor's decision "the correct decision," stating that Thompson is "gravely ill, not competent, and intellectually disabled." The group argued that his execution would have violated the Eighth Amendment and human dignity.