The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a request to halt the scheduled execution of inmate Kayle Bates, who was convicted in the 1992 murder of Bay County woman.
Justices upheld a lower court’s ruling against Bates and ruled he was “procedurally barred from collaterally raising” a series of arguments that have been previously rejected.
“He claims that he was deprived of a fair trial and due process by multiple actions of the trial court judge in not protecting the jury from external influences,’ ” the decision reads. “He claims his trial counsel was ineffective.”
Bates’ attorneys had requested public records and raised challenges related to the lethal injection procedure. The court found his requests overbroad and untimely, noting he did not demonstrate how they were connected to a valid legal claim.
Bates was found guilty of the fatal stabbing of Janet White, who was abducted from the insurance office where she worked. He was sentenced to death after a jury recommendation and decades of subsequent litigation.
Bates’ attorneys also argued he was mentally ill at the time of the murder and that his “organic brain damage” was not considered in the previous appeal.
Bates, 67, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday at the Florida State Prison near Starke. If carried out, he would be the 10th inmate executed in Florida this year.
Meantime, Bates’ attorneys filed an appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Bates on a separate issue.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Bates’ death warrant on July 18. DeSantis also signed a death warrant for Curtis Windom, who is slated to be executed Aug. 28 for three 1992 murders in Orange County.
