A man who kidnapped a woman from a Florida insurance office and murdered her is set for execution in Florida, with a death warrant signed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
Kayle Bates is scheduled to be executed on August 19, marking the 10th execution planned for this year. DeSantis signed the warrant on Friday, just three days after Michael Bell was executed for the 1993 fatal shooting of two individuals outside a Florida bar as part of a botched revenge plot.
Bell was the 26th person executed in the U.S. this year under court orders, surpassing last year’s total of 25 executions. This marks the highest number since 2015, when 28 individuals were executed.
Bates, now 67, was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and attempted sexual battery in the June 14, 1982, Bay County killing of Janet White.
Bates abducted White from the State Farm insurance office where she worked, took her into some woods behind the building, attempted to rape her, stabbed her to death, and tore a diamond ring from one of her fingers, according to a letter from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier summarizing the history of the case.
Bates’ attorney, James Driscoll Jr., said in a phone call Saturday that he would be filing further appeals in the case.
“We believe his execution would violate the U.S. constitution,” he said.
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