William Thompson Faces Execution in Florida Amid Dementia, Terminal Illness Concerns

UPDATE: On September 25, counsel for William Thompson filed a new federal lawsuit in the Middle District of Florida, accusing several state actors and prison healthcare providers of denying Mr. Thompson of his “constitutional right to adequate medical care.” The lawsuit does not challenge Mr. Thompson’s death sentence or scheduled execution but rather asks the federal court to require that the named officials provide constitutionally required medical care for Mr. Thompson. The lawsuit asks for an emergency temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction barring the state from denying Mr. Thompson from receiving appropriate medical care at a Florida Department of Corrections facility or at an outside medical center.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an execution warrant for 74-year-old prisoner William “Bill” Thompson less than 24 hours after he was released from the hospital to the hospice wing of the prison. After his attorneys raised serious concerns about his mental competency and deteriorating physical health, Gov. DeSantis agreed to temporarily stay the execution so Mr. Thompson’s competency can be evaluated on October 1. If he is found competent, his execution remains scheduled for October 13.

Mr. Thompson was sentenced to death for his role in the 1976 murder of 23-year-old Sally Ivester in Miami-Dade County. His co-defendant, Rocco Surace, was also sentenced to death for his role in the murder, but his conviction was overturned on appeal, and he was sentenced to life in prison after a retrial and died behind bars in the 1990s. Mr. Thompson’s 1976 death sentence was overturned on appeal and at a later resentencing, a jury voted issued a 7 – 5 recommendation for a death sentence. Today, a recommendation of this count would not result in a death sentence in any US state — including Florida, whose non-unanimous threshold requires eight votes for a death sentence. Governor Ron DeSantis signed Mr. Thompson’s death warrant on September 11, the 17^th death warrant he has issued so far this year in Florida.

According to Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) Legal and Policy Director Maria DeLiberato, Mr. Thompson’s health has been declining for years but deteriorated sharply this summer. He is now terminally ill, living with severe dementia, heart failure, kidney disease, liver disease, sepsis, and other serious conditions. He has two ostomies and relies on an indwelling catheter to empty his bladder. That decline culminated on August 17, when he was found unresponsive in his cell, his breathing “shallow, uneven and labored,” frothing at the mouth, with dangerously low blood sugar and blood pressure — requiring transport to an outside hospital, where the conditions above were documented. He remained hospitalized until September 10, at which point doctors directed that he receive continued medical care in prison. Gov. DeSantis signed his death warrant the very next day, and since then, attorneys for Mr. Thompson allege that he has not received the specialized care his doctors prescribed.

Mr. Thompson’s attorneys filed an emergency petition with the Florida Supreme Court asking that Mr. Thompson be immediately transported back to a hospital for quality medical care. Earlier this month, on September 3, after being discharged from the hospital and during his return to prison, he “slid out of his wheelchair” and suffered an additional head wound that required further treatment. He was re-hospitalized and treated for sepsis, blood clots, and severe malnutrition, among other issues. He was released again a week later and transferred to “W Dorm,” or the death row dormitories designated for those receiving “end-of-life care.” Less than 24 hours after his discharge, Gov. DeSantis signed his death warrant and Mr. Thompson was transferred to death watch. His attorneys argue that on death watch, Mr. Thompson is not receiving adequate medical care.

On September 18, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed counsel’s emergency petition, saying that it did not have proper jurisdiction to consider these claims.

Separately, Mr. Thompson’s attorneys have pursued a Ford v. Wainwright (1986) claim, writing to Gov. DeSantis’ office that they have a “good faith basis to believe” that Mr. Thompson “is insane and lacks the mental capacity to have a rational understanding of the nature and effect of the death penalty and the reasons why it was imposed on him.” The letter indicates that a medical professional examined Mr. Thompson and determined that he “meets the criteria for insanity due to his dementia and significant cognitive decline.” According to FADP, this medical professional found Mr. Thompson “does not even understand that he is living under a sentence of death.”

In an executive order signed after receiving the letter, Gov. DeSantis temporarily stayed Mr. Thompson’s execution to appoint three psychiatrists to examine Mr. Thompson. Under Florida’s Ford procedure, the stay is a statutory requirement once a competency claim is raised, not a discretionary act of clemency or mercy. The evaluation has been scheduled for October 1.

According to a successive postconviction motion filed by Mr. Thompson’s attorneys on September 19, the Florida Department of Corrections records document an extensive list of serious health conditions — among them sepsis, chronic kidney disease, severe fatty liver disease, acute systolic congestive heart failure, and dementia, in addition to the conditions described above. Mr. Thompson has become so malnourished that he may now weigh less than 100 pounds at 6’3”, and hospital staff have diagnosed him with cachexia, a wasting syndrome associated with terminal illness. The motion also notes the state has not turned over all of Mr. Thompson’s medical records despite court orders, and that his counsel has only received records from one of three hospital stays.

Mr. Thompson’s motion raises four claims. First, his successive postconviction motion argues that he was denied a required clemency interview before the Governor’s office issued a letter denying him clemency. Second, the petition alleges his execution would amount to a violation of the Eighth Amendment, on three separate grounds. Mr. Thompson, who cannot walk, will need to be lifted from a wheelchair to a gurney for execution, and the petition contends that involved staff are not properly trained to do so without causing him severe pain given his broken ribs, abdominal stoma, and stage-four sacral wound. Third, his counsel cite difficulties establishing an IV line during the recent execution of Dusty Spencer and argue the execution team may similarly struggle to establish IV lines given Mr. Thompson’s fragile veins. Counsel warn that alternative methods, including central venous access or a surgical cut-down, would carry serious risk given his blood-thinning medication and lung conditions. Lastly, the motion argues Mr. Thompson’s compromised lung function would make him substantially more likely to experience prolonged, conscious air hunger under the state’s three-drug protocol than a person with normal lung function.