USA - Florida. William Thompson spared from execution

October 8, 2026 - Florida. William Thompson spared from execution

On October 8, 2026, DeSantis canceled Thompson's scheduled execution

William Thompson, 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. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis withdrew Thompson’s death warrant on October 8—just five days before the 74-year-old man’s scheduled execution.

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. He had only signed the death warrant on Sept. 11.

But the withdrawal comes as reports say Thompson is suffering from dementia. 

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.

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.”

Thompson reportedly “did not understand” what he was being asked when quizzed by doctors about his surgeries, according to the 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.”

He “lacks the mental capacity to understand the fact of his impending execution and the reason for it.”

Thompson had previously been hospitalized in Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Gainesville—and doctors revealed he had a “knowledge deficit.”

On March 30, 1976, 23-year-old Georgia resident Sally Ivester was murdered in a motel in North Miami Beach, Florida, by William Lee Thompson and Rocco James Surace. The two men demanded that Ivester obtain money from her family. After she gave them $25 — far less than the promised sum of $200 to $300 — they tortured her and killed her. The murder was witnessed by another woman, Barbara Savage, who was being held in the same room as Ivester.

Thompson and Surace were arrested. On June 15, 1976, Surace pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, rape and first-degree murder on the second day of the trial. A day later, Thompson pleaded guilty to the charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and rape. 

On June 23, 1976, the jury recommended the death penalty for Surace and Thompson.

On June 25, 1976, Circuit Judge Joseph Durant sentenced the pair to death by electrocution for the murder of Ivester.

Surace appealed his conviction and was granted a new trial, at which he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. He died in prison in 1993.

Thompson’s death sentence was overturned twice before being reinstated after resentencing trials in 1978 and 1989, respectively.

So he was sent back to death row in 1989.

“Withdrawing the death warrant for William Thompson was the correct decision. 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.

“His execution would have been an abject violation of the Eighth Amendment and an affront to human dignity.”