Ron DeSantis cancelled a planned execution in the state on Friday, days before a 74-year-old man was due to be killed by lethal injection.
The move – the first time Florida’s governor has withdrawn a death warrant in his nearly eight years in office – comes just over a week after the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee.
DeSantis, who has aggressively used the death penalty during his time as governor, signed a letter on Thursday withdrawing the death warrant for William Lee Thompson. The Republican did not give a reason for the withdrawal, which comes at a time of increased national and international scrutiny on the use of the death penalty in the US.
Pike, 50, survived two lethal injections on 30 September. She was taken to a hospital and declared brain dead on Monday, before waking up and beginning to speak on Tuesday. On Thursday her lawyer said she was “up and walking” in hospital, but said her arms are severely injured.
Adding to the attention on state executions, this week the Pentagon announced that it would livestream the execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, who was sentenced to death for killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.
William Lee Thompson, 74, had been scheduled to be killed by the state on Tuesday, for the murder and kidnapping of Sally Ivester in 1976. Lawyers for Thompson said he is suffering from dementia.
A second Florida execution scheduled for Tuesday is still set to take place. In that case, James Robertson, 63, is due to be executed for the first degree murder of Frank Hart, then a fellow inmate, in 2008. Robertson waived all appeals, and told investigators he killed Hart so he could be moved to death row.
DeSantis did not provide a reason in the letter for withdrawing Thompson’s death warrant, but had temporarily stayed his execution last month pending a psychiatric evaluation. Florida prison officials, however, had still been preparing for Thompson’s potential execution next week.
Grace Hanna, executive director of Floridians for alternatives to the death penalty, said Thompson’s attorneys had told DeSantis he was “incompetent for execution due to his dementia”.
“He did not know where he was, stated that ‘Bush’ was the president, and, at times, did not even recognize that he had been sentenced to death,” Hanna said. “In accordance with state law, he underwent an evaluation last week. Officials never released the findings or explained today’s withdrawal.”
Thompson’s attorney, Bri Lacy, said they’re relieved by the result.
“Mr Thompson suffers from dementia and his health is failing – both of which were gravely concerning with an impending execution,” Lacy said in an email to Associated Press.
“Now that Mr Thompson is no longer under a death warrant, we hope FDOC (Florida Department of Corrections) will relocate him to an adequate medical facility and provide the care he needs.”
A spokesperson for DeSantis did not immediately return an email seeking comment. Thompson will remain on Florida’s death row, and a new death warrant could be signed for him in the future.
Florida carried out 19 executions last year, a record in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. In July, Florida became the first state in nearly a decade to execute two prisoners in one day.
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