TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WWSB) – Governor Ron DeSantis has withdrawn the death warrant for William Lee Thompson, canceling his execution scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 13.
Thompson, 74, was set to be the second Florida inmate executed that day. James Robertson, 63, remains scheduled for execution at noon for the 2008 killing of his cellmate, Frank Hart, at Charlotte Correctional Institution.
DeSantis did not give a reason for withdrawing Thompson’s death warrant in a letter to the prison warden. Thompson’s attorneys had argued that advanced dementia left him incompetent to be executed and other opponents also cited his declining health.
The decision does not affect James Robertson’s execution, which is scheduled for noon Tuesday.
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