DeSantis Withdraws Thompson Death Warrant in a First After Eight Years
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis withdrew the death warrant for 74-year-old William Lee Thompson on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, canceling a lethal injection planned for Tuesday. It was the first time DeSantis had withdrawn a death warrant in his nearly eight years as governor. The Guardian
DeSantis signed a letter on Thursday withdrawing the warrant and sent it to Florida State Prison. The letter gave no reason for the decision. The action came five days before the scheduled execution.
Thompson, from Miami, had been scheduled for execution by lethal injection for the 1976 murder and kidnapping of Sally Ivester. His lawyers say he is suffering from dementia. Last month, DeSantis had issued a temporary stay, a short pause, pending a psychiatric evaluation to assess Thompson's mental condition.
Thompson will remain on Florida's death row, where sentenced prisoners await execution. A new death warrant, the formal order that sets an execution date, could be signed for him in the future.
A second execution scheduled for Tuesday is still set to take place. James Robertson, 63, is due to be executed for the first-degree murder of fellow inmate Frank Hart in 2008.
Florida carried out 19 executions last year, a state record since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
The broader context here is pace paired with executive discretion. Nineteen executions in one year is an unusually active pace, and setting two executions for the same Tuesday fit that pattern. A withdrawal without a stated reason, the first under DeSantis, breaks the pattern without changing the sentence or ruling out future action. The order of steps also matters, with a temporary stay for evaluation followed by a full withdrawal.
Looking at the weeks ahead, the two tracks now diverge. Thompson's case turns on what, if anything, follows the evaluation and whether the governor's office sets another date. No timetable was given. Robertson's case moves toward Tuesday unless a separate order intervenes.
