佛罗里达州长德桑蒂斯首次撤销死刑令状

佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯周四撤销了74岁死刑犯威廉·李·汤普森的死亡令状，这是他近八年任期以来首次采取此举1。汤普森原定于本周二执行死刑，因1976年谋杀和绑架萨利·艾维斯特案件被判死刑1。

汤普森的律师声称其委托人患有痴呆症，精神上不适宜执行死刑1。根据律师描述，汤普森"不知道自己在哪里，说'布什'是总统，有时甚至不承认自己被判死刑"1。德桑蒂斯未公开提供撤销死刑令状的理由1。此项决定发生在田纳西州9月30日克里斯塔·派克毒针注射执行失败引起广泛关注之际1，派克当时经历了两次失败的注射，随后被宣布脑死亡，后来恢复意识并能说话1。

与此同时，另一名死刑犯詹姆斯·罗伯逊现年63岁，仍定于本周二执行死刑1。佛罗里达州去年执行了19次死刑，创下自1976年恢复死刑制度以来的记录1。

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew the death warrant for William Lee Thompson on Thursday, marking the first time in his nearly eight-year tenure that he has halted an execution 1. Thompson, 74 years old, had been scheduled for execution on Tuesday 1. He was sentenced to death for a 1976 murder and kidnapping of Sally Ivester 1.

Thompson's legal team argued he was mentally unfit for execution, citing that he suffers from dementia and "does not know where he is, says 'Bush' is the president, and sometimes does not even acknowledge that he has been sentenced to death" 1. DeSantis did not provide a reason for his decision to withdraw the warrant 1. The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of capital punishment following a troubled execution in Tennessee, where inmate Christina Parker underwent two failed lethal injection attempts on September 30 before being declared brain dead, only to later regain consciousness and ability to speak 1.

The reprieve for Thompson stands in contrast to Florida's broader execution trajectory. The state carried out 19 executions last year, the highest number since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976 1. Meanwhile, another death row inmate, James Robertson, 63, remains scheduled for execution on Tuesday 1.