A man who kidnapped a woman from a Florida insurance office and murdered her is set to be executed in Florida following a death warrant signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Kayle Bates is scheduled to face execution on Aug. 19, marking the 10th execution planned for this year. The warrant was signed by DeSantis on Friday, only three days following the execution of Michael Bell, who was put to death for the 1993 shooting deaths of two individuals outside a Florida bar in a botched revenge plot.
Bell was the 26th person executed by judicial order in the United States this year, surpassing the 25 executions completed last year. This figure represents the highest number of executions 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.
