Florida Man Scheduled for Execution After 1982 Murder and Kidnapping Conviction

Kayle Bates, 67, is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison near Starke, marking the 10th death penalty carried out in Florida this year. The execution, set for 6 p.m., comes after a death warrant was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, further extending the state’s record for executions in a single year.

Florida has already surpassed its previous high of eight executions in 2014, and two more executions are planned within the next month.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Florida has executed more people than any other state in 2025, with Texas and South Carolina tied for second with four executions each.

Bates was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, and attempted sexual battery in the brutal killing of Janet White on June 14, 1982.

White, an employee at an insurance office in Bay County, was abducted by Bates and taken into the woods behind the building, where Bates attempted to rape her, fatally stabbed her, and stole a diamond ring from her finger. Court documents detail the gruesome crime.

Bates’ legal team has filed multiple appeals, including requests with the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as a federal lawsuit arguing that the process for signing death warrants in Florida is discriminatory.

The federal lawsuit was dismissed last Tuesday due to issues with the statistical analysis provided, with the court ruling that even if the numbers were accurate, they did not prove discrimination.

On the same day, the Florida Supreme Court denied Bates’ claims, including the argument that evidence of organic brain damage had not been properly considered during his second penalty phase. The court determined that Bates had sufficient time—three decades—to raise these claims.

A final decision from the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Bates’ last appeal is still pending.

This year, 28 men have been executed in the United States, with 10 more executions scheduled in seven states through the remainder of 2025. In Florida, Curtis Windom, 59, is scheduled for execution on August 28 for the 1992 murders of three people in Orlando, and David Pittman, 63, is scheduled for execution on September 17 for the 1990 killings of his estranged wife’s family in Polk County.

Florida’s death penalty is carried out through a three-drug lethal injection process, which includes a sedative, a paralytic, and a heart-stopping drug, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.