Execution of U.S. Death Row Inmate Awaiting Sentence for 50 Years Called Off

The Governor of Florida has cancelled the execution warrant for Thompson, a 74-year-old inmate sentenced to death for a murder committed 50 years ago. The governor did not disclose the reasons for this decision.

According to reports, Thompson was found guilty—along with an accomplice—of the 1976 murder of a woman named Sally Ivester. He was sentenced to death that same year. However, his sentence was subsequently overturned, and he avoided execution in both 1982 and 1987. He was sentenced to death again in 1989 and has remained on death row ever since.

Thompson currently suffers from dementia and severe cognitive impairment. An expert has stated that he has lost the mental capacity necessary to comprehend the nature and reason for the execution.