Florida Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew William Thompson’s death warrant just five days before his scheduled execution for a murder that occurred 50 years ago. Thompson, now 74 and suffering from dementia, has been on death row since 1989 after being convicted of the torture murder of Sally Ivester in Miami-Dade County. His attorney claims he lacks mental capacity to understand his impending execution due to significant cognitive decline and severe pain, as reported by a neuropsychologist who examined him.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
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Story summary
William Thompson, a 74-year-old inmate on Florida's death row since 1989, was spared execution just five days before it was scheduled. The decision came from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who withdrew the death warrant without explanation. Thompson had been convicted of a particularly brutal murder in Miami-Dade County in 1973 and was originally sentenced to death in 1976. His sentence has since been overturned, reimposed, and he faced execution twice but was spared both times in the 1980s. Now, reports suggest Thompson is suffering from dementia, which under the Eighth Amendment can prevent the execution of inmates with mental illnesses that impair their understanding of why they are being executed. Thompson's attorney has urged officials to urgently transport him to a hospital due to his declining health.
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One of Florida’s longest-serving death row inmates has been spared from execution amid reports he is suffering from dementia – 50 years after he was convicted of a torture murder.
asserted
he → serve → murder
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis withdrew William Thompson’s death warrant on Thursday – just five days before the 74-year-old killer’s scheduled execution for what cops at the time called Miami-Dade’s “meanest murder.”
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cops → withdraw → time
DeSantis didn’t explain why he withdrew Thompson’s death warrant in a letter he sent to Florida State Prison Warden Randall Polk, which has been viewed by The Post.
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which → explain → Post
He had only signed the death warrant on Sept. 11.
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He → sign → Sept.
But the withdrawal comes as reports say Thompson, who was Miami-Dade’s longest death row inmate, is suffering from dementia.
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who → come → dementia
Thompson was first put on death row in 1976 before his sentence was overturned, reimposed, and he was spared from execution twice in the 1980s.
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he → put → 1980s
The Eighth Amendment spares death row inmates suffering from mental illnesses if the disease stops them from understanding why they are being put to death.
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they → spar → death
Thompson’s attorney Brittney Lacy urged Florida Department of Corrections officials to rush the killer to a hospital as his health required “emergent medical care in an emergency petition on Sept. 16, according to court documents seen by The Post.
“He could not give counsel any details about his hospital stays,” Lacy said, revealing Thompson “appeared unaware.”
uncertain
Thompson → urge → stays
Thompson reportedly “did not understand” what he was being asked when quizzed by doctors about his surgeries, according to the petition.
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he → understand → petition
He was examined by Florida neuropsychologist Robert Ouaou, who said Thompson “meets the criteria for insanity due to his dementia and significant cognitive decline.”
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Thompson → examine → dementia
He “lacks the mental capacity to understand the fact of his impending execution and the reason for it.”
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He → lack → it
Thompson also told the doctor “he was in severe pain” and he was “too weak to freely move his arms or extremities,” according to Lacy’s filing.
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he → tell → filing
Thompson had previously been hospitalized in Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Gainesville – and doctors revealed he had a “knowledge deficit.”
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he → hospitalize → deficit
He “did not know who the president was” and claimed it was “Bush,” according to the documents.
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it → know → documents
It’s unclear which former President Bush he was referring to.
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he → ’ → Bush
Thompson was “unable to recall [what he had] eaten, [whether he had] been seen by medical staff [or] spoken to by anyone,” his lawyers said.
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lawyers → recall → anyone
Thompson was first put to death in 1976 after being convicted alongside his accomplice, Rocco Surace, for the murder of Sally Ivester, which happened at the Sunny Isles Motel in Miami Beach.
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which → put → Beach
Ivester was with another woman, Barbara Savage, during her interaction with the two men – who would turn out to be her killers.
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who → turn → men
The men ordered Ivester to provide $200, but she could only cough up $25.
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she → order → 25
The rather measly sum prompted the two men to bash Ivester with chains, burn her with cigarettes as they unleashed a frenzied attack.
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they → prompt → attack
Thompson and Surace then sadistically ordered Ivester to call her mom, asking for more money, before she was then assaulted.
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she → order → money
Ivester died from shock and the internal injuries she sustained.
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she → die → shock
Surace initially pleaded guilty to the kidnapping, rape and murder of Ivester – before the Supreme Court reversed his sentence.
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Court → plead → sentence
He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 203 years in prison before he died in 1993 while in custody.
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he → find → custody
Thompson’s initial death row sentence was overturned – before he was spared from execution twice in 1982 and 1987.
He was sent back to death row in 1989, where he remained for more than 30 years – before the motion was withdrawn.
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motion → overturn → years
“Withdrawing the death warrant for William Thompson was the correct decision.
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Withdrawing → withdraw → Thompson
Mr. Thompson is gravely ill, not competent, and intellectually disabled,” Grace Hanna, the executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty said, welcoming DeSantis’ decision.
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Hanna → say → decision
The Aporia
