Stop the Execution of William Thompson in Florida

Governor DeSantis and The Florida Board Executive of Clemency

William “Bill” Thompson is facing execution in Florida on October 13 for his role in the 1976 murder of Sally Ivester, nearly 50 years ago. His co-defendant, who actually committed the murder, received a life sentence.

Nothing can diminish the profound loss suffered by Sally’s family and loved ones. We remember her and recognize that the pain caused by her murder has lasted for decades.

Mr. Thompson is now 74 years old and gravely ill. He suffers from chronic kidney disease, severe liver disease, congestive heart failure, and complications from sepsis and recent abdominal surgery. He requires substantial medical care and assistance with basic daily activities, though has not received that while on death watch.

Mr. Thompson also has dementia and is incompetent to be executed. He cannot rationally understand the reason for his execution, making his execution unconstitutional.

Despite his age, rapidly declining health, and incompetency, Mr. Thompson  never received a clemency investigation or a meaningful opportunity to present his case for mercy after his most recent resentencing. Clemency exists so that circumstances like these can be fully considered before the State takes a life.

Mr. Thompson is already dying. Florida should not make his final days about its determination to kill him. Executing a gravely ill and incompetent man will not protect the public or change what happened in 1976.

We respectfully urge Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Board of Executive Clemency to halt William Thompson’s execution and grant him clemency.

To: Governor DeSantis and The Florida Board Executive of Clemency
From: [Your Name]

We stand together to urge you to stop the execution of William “Bill” Thompson.

Nothing can diminish the profound loss suffered by Sally Ivester’s family and loved ones. We remember Sally, and we acknowledge the pain caused by her murder. But executing a gravely ill, cognitively impaired 74-year-old man nearly half a century later will not undo that loss.

Mr. Thompson is suffering from severe, life-threatening medical conditions, including chronic kidney disease, severe liver disease, congestive heart failure, and complications from recent sepsis and abdominal surgery. He requires extensive medical care and assistance with basic daily activities, though is not receiving that while on death watch. His lawyers have also alerted your office that they believe he is incompetent for execution because dementia has left him unable to understand the reason for -- or reality of -- his impending execution. The Constitution prohibits executing a person who lacks that understanding.

Mr. Thompson has spent nearly 50 years on death row for a crime committed in 1976. Yet before setting his execution date, the State did not provide him with a clemency investigation or an opportunity to present his case for mercy. Clemency exists precisely so that a governor can consider circumstances -- including advanced age, intellectual disability, grave illness, cognitive decline, and culpability in the crime -- that courts may be unable to address. Bill's co-defendant, who actually committed the crime, received a life sentence and died in prison. No clemency investigator has had the opportunity to present that to the governor.

Florida can protect the public without executing a terminally ill elderly man whose competency remains in serious doubt. We respectfully urge you to halt the execution of William Thompson, provide him with a full and meaningful clemency process, and commute his sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.