Florida on Tuesday put to death a man convicted of abducting a woman from an insurance office and fatally stabbing her.
Kayle Bates, aged 67, was declared deceased at 6:17 p.m. after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison located near Starke. He was sentenced to death following his conviction for first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, and attempted sexual assault on June 14, 1982, when he killed Janet White in Florida’s Panhandle.
White’s husband, Randy White, witnessed Tuesday’s execution.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on the death warrant for Kayle Bates. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
His attorneys challenged the conviction and filed a lawsuit arguing that the process used by DeSantis to sign death warrants was biased. However, a judge recently dismissed this lawsuit.
Bates also argued that his organic brain damage was not adequately considered during his second penalty phase, but the Florida Supreme Court rejected this claim.
Tuesday’s execution was the state’s 10th this year, a record. Across the United States, 29 men have died by court-ordered execution, as of Tuesday.
Photo shows the gurney in the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
At least nine other people were scheduled to be put to death in seven states for the remainder of 2025.
