Florida Supreme Court Rejects Death Row Inmate Appeal In 1976 Murder

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a Death Row inmate who was convicted in a brutal 1976 murder of a woman in Miami-Dade Cou

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a Death Row inmate who was convicted in a brutal 1976 murder of a woman in Miami-Dade County.

William Lee Thompson, now 70, was convicted in the murder of Sally Ivester, who was assaulted in a motel room because she was not able to get as much money from her family as Thompson and another man hoped. — William Lee Thompson

Justices, in a 6-1 decision, said William Lee Thompson was not entitled to a lower-court hearing on a claim that he has an intellectual disability that would prevent him from being executed.

Chief Justice Charles Canady and Justices Ricky Polston, Alan Lawson, Carlos Muniz, John Couriel, and Jamie Grosshans were in the majority, while Justice Jorge Labarga dissented.

Thompson, now 70, was convicted in the murder of Sally Ivester, who was assaulted in a motel room because she was not able to get as much money from her family as Thompson and another man hoped.

Ivester, in part, was beaten with a chain, a club, and a chair leg and was tortured with lit cigarettes and lighters, according to Thursday’s ruling. She died of internal bleeding and multiple injuries.

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