Event Brief
DeSantis sets execution date for 1976 killer
By The BriefBrief · Sources (1)
Filed: Sep 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET
Summary: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for William Lee Thompson, scheduling his execution for October 13, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Raiford. The warrant, signed Sept. 11, 2026, follows Thompson’s convictions for first-degree murder, kidnapping, and involuntary sexual battery in the 1976 motel-room torture-murder of Sally Ivester.
WHO: Gov. Ron DeSantis; William Lee Thompson; Warden Randall Polk; Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier; Florida Supreme Court
WHAT: Death warrant signed and execution date set for William Lee Thompson for the 1976 motel-room torture-murder of Sally Ivester.
WHEN: Oct 13, 2026
WHERE: Florida State Prison in Raiford
WHY: The execution was scheduled through a signed death warrant directing the sentence to be carried out.
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