Maybe because he’s been on death row for 50 years

One of Florida’s longest‑serving death row inmates has been spared from execution after reports surfaced that he is suffering from dementia — nearly 50 years after his conviction in a notorious torture murder.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis withdrew the death warrant for William Thompson, 74, on Thursday, just five days before Thompson was scheduled to die for what investigators once labeled Miami‑Dade’s “meanest murder.” DeSantis offered no explanation in the brief letter he sent to Florida State Prison Warden Randall Polk. The governor had signed the warrant less than a month earlier, on Sept. 11.

Thompson, Miami‑Dade’s longest‑held death row prisoner, has reportedly experienced significant cognitive decline. He was first sentenced to death in 1976, saw the sentence overturned, reinstated, and avoided execution twice in the 1980s. He has remained on death row continuously since 1989.

Dementia Claims and Emergency Medical Concerns

The Eighth Amendment prohibits executing inmates who cannot comprehend the reason for their punishment due to mental illness. Thompson’s attorney, Brittney Lacy, filed an emergency petition on Sept. 16 urging officials to transfer him to a hospital, saying his condition required immediate care.

According to the filing, Thompson could not recall details of recent hospital stays and appeared unaware of basic information. Doctors reported he did not understand questions about his surgeries and struggled to answer even simple prompts.

Florida neuropsychologist Robert Ouaou evaluated Thompson and concluded he “meets the criteria for insanity due to dementia and significant cognitive decline,” adding that Thompson lacks the capacity to grasp the fact or purpose of his impending execution.

Thompson also complained of severe pain and weakness, telling doctors he was too frail to move his arms or legs freely. Medical staff noted a “knowledge deficit,” including his inability to identify the current president — instead naming “Bush,” though it was unclear which one he meant.

His attorneys said Thompson could not remember what he had eaten, whether he had spoken to medical staff, or if anyone had visited him.

The 1976 Murder of Sally Ivester

Thompson and accomplice Rocco Surace were convicted in the 1976 killing of Sally Ivester at the Sunny Isles Motel in Miami Beach. Ivester and another woman, Barbara Savage, encountered the men shortly before the attack.

When Ivester could only produce $25 of the $200 the men demanded, Thompson and Surace beat her with chains, burned her with cigarettes, and forced her to call her mother for more money. The assault was so brutal that local investigators dubbed it “Dade’s meanest murder.” Ivester died from shock and extensive internal injuries.

Surace initially pleaded guilty to kidnapping, rape, and murder, but his sentence was later reversed. He was ultimately convicted of murder and given a 203‑year sentence. Surace died in custody in 1993.

Thompson’s death sentence was overturned once and halted twice — in 1982 and 1987 — before he was returned to death row in 1989.

Reaction to the Withdrawal

Advocates welcomed DeSantis’ decision.

“Withdrawing the death warrant for William Thompson was the correct decision,” said Grace Hanna, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. “Mr. Thompson is gravely ill, not competent, and intellectually disabled. His execution would have been an abject violation of the Eighth Amendment and an affront to human dignity.”

Florida death row inmate William Thompson spared from execution, 50 years after torture murder

smdh… Oh, the old piece of dog shit has dementia? You think, maybe, it could be because you let the old cock-sucker on death row for 50 damned years? Pathetic.