Kayle Bates
Kayle Bates, 67, served six years in the National Guard, and veterans groups asked Florida's governor to spare him because of that service. He was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, under a death warrant signed by Governor Ron DeSantis. According to the New York Post, he declined to give last words and turned down a last meal. His attorneys had pursued appeals in state and federal courts, including a federal lawsuit over the death-warrant process that was dismissed, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal that day. PBS reported that he was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Randy White, whose wife Janet Renee White was killed in 1982, witnessed the execution and said he had promised her he would see the case through.
Reported by: Florida Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Vocal.media roundup of 2025 U.S. executions (reporters); WUSF article (reporters).
Lawsuit: Kayle Bates's attorneys filed a federal lawsuit over the death-warrant process, which was dismissed, and he was executed by the State of Florida on August 19, 2025.
News reports (5)
- Execution List 1976-present
- Man executed for 1982 murder in record 10th execution this year in Florida
- Husband witnesses wife’s killer executed 43 years after her death: ‘I made a promise’
- Florida Supreme Court refuses to halt execution of man convicted in 1992 Orange County murders
- Every United States Prisoner Executed 2025