Florida execution called off after DeSantis withdraws death warrant for first time

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Published: 2026-10-09T17:39:06.067Z • Permanent link

Governor Ron DeSantis has halted the execution of William Lee Thompson, a 74-year-old man scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on Friday. This decision comes after DeSantis withdrew the death warrant for Thompson, a first-time move by the governor. Thompson's execution was part of a scheduled batch of four executions set to take place in Florida this month. DeSantis's office cited "new intelligence" as the reason for the halt, without providing further details.

Thompson's case has drawn attention from human rights groups and death penalty reform advocates, who have long argued that the death penalty is a flawed system prone to errors and biases. In 2019, Thompson's lawyers pointed to a 2015 case in which a Florida judge found that the state's lethal injection protocol was unconstitutional due to the use of a potentially lethal dose of a sedative. Thompson's lawyers argued that this protocol was still being used in his case.

Thompson was initially sentenced to death in 1987 for the murder of Christa Pike, a woman who was killed in a botched kidnapping attempt. The case drew national attention due to the brazen nature of the crime and the fact that Thompson was a young man at the time of the murder. Thompson's lawyers have maintained that he is innocent of the crime, citing new evidence and witnesses who claim to have seen someone else at the scene of the crime.

The halt in Thompson's execution has significant implications for the research community and death penalty reform advocates. The National Registry of Exonerations, which tracks wrongful convictions in the United States, has estimated that over 160 people have been exonerated since 1989 due to DNA evidence or other new evidence. The Florida death penalty has been the subject of numerous studies and critiques, with many arguing that the system is plagued by errors and biases.

The halt in Thompson's execution also raises questions about the reliability of the death penalty in Florida. The state's Department of Corrections has faced criticism for its handling of executions, including a failed lethal injection in 2019 that left the condemned man on life support for several hours. The failure of the Florida death penalty has also had a significant impact on the insurance industry, with many companies refusing to provide coverage for executions or capital punishment-related liability.

The halt in Thompson's execution is part of a larger pattern of challenges to the death penalty in the United States. In recent years, several states have abolished the death penalty or placed it on hold, citing concerns about its reliability and constitutionality. The American Civil Liberties Union has argued that the death penalty is a form of state-sanctioned murder that is often applied unfairly and with inadequate due process protections.