Kayle Bates, 67, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison this evening for the brutal kidnapping and murder of insurance office worker Janet White more than four decades ago, marking Florida’s tenth execution of 2025.
The West Palm Beach native is set to die by lethal injection at 6pm at Florida State Prison near Starke, pending a last-minute decision from the US Supreme Court on his final appeal. Bates was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and attempted sexual battery in the 14 June 1982 killing of 24-year-old Janet White in Bay County.
His execution would make Florida the first state in modern American history to carry out ten executions in a single year, breaking the previous record of eight set in 1984 and matched in 2014. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has overseen more executions in 2025 than any Florida governor since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.
Brutal crime shocked Bay County community
Court documents reveal the horrific details of White’s murder, which occurred at a State Farm insurance office in Lynn Haven, Florida, where she worked. According to testimony presented at trial, Bates broke into the office whilst White was at lunch and surprised her when she returned.
“When Bates surprised White, she let out a bone-chilling scream and fought for her life,” stated a brief filed by the Florida Attorney General’s Office.
A friend who was speaking to White on the telephone at approximately 1:05pm heard screaming before the line went dead, prompting an immediate call to police. Investigators found that Bates had abducted White from her office, forced her into woodland behind the building, and attempted to rape her before stabbing her to death.
The convicted killer also tore a diamond ring from one of White’s fingers during the attack. Police found Bates at the crime scene with the victim’s blood on his clothing, and he later gave inconsistent confessions to authorities.
Decades of legal challenges fail
Bates has spent more than 40 years on death row, exhausting multiple appeals through state and federal courts. His case has undergone numerous reviews, including challenges to jury selection and claims that evidence of organic brain damage was inadequately considered during his second penalty phase.
The Florida Supreme Court denied his most recent claims last Tuesday, ruling that Bates had “had three decades to raise these claims” and failed to demonstrate good cause for the lengthy delay.
His legal team also filed a federal lawsuit claiming Governor DeSantis’s process for signing death warrants was discriminatory. That lawsuit was dismissed last week, with the judge finding problems with the statistical analysis presented.
Even if the numbers were correct, they wouldn’t necessarily prove discrimination,” the court determined.
Final appeals pending as execution approaches
Lawyers representing Bates have filed a last-ditch appeal with the US Supreme Court, though legal experts consider the chances of intervention slim. The nation’s highest court previously declined to take up an appeal by Bates on 30 June related to a juror in his trial.
Bates’s supporters, including Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, have argued that his case deserves further review. The organisation’s volunteers have hand-delivered thousands of petitions to DeSantis’s office, though these efforts appear to have had no impact on the governor’s decision.
For the warrants that Governor DeSantis has signed off on, 95% of those involve white victims,” claimed attorney Lashawn Dunn, who believes prosecutors never concretely proved Bates committed the murder.
DeSantis defends capital punishment stance
Governor DeSantis has vigorously defended his approach to capital punishment, stating at a May press conference that he takes such cases “very seriously”.
There are some crimes that are just so horrific, the only appropriate punishment is the death penalty,” DeSantis said. “These are the worst of the worst.”
The Republican governor’s spokesperson pointed to these statements when questioned about Florida’s record-breaking execution pace, but declined to provide details about how death warrant decisions are made.
Critics have called the process “secretive” and “arbitrary”, noting that little is publicly known about how the governor decides whose death warrant to sign and when.
Florida leads national execution surge
Florida’s aggressive pursuit of executions under DeSantis has contributed to a nationwide increase in capital punishment. The state has carried out more executions in 2025 than any other, with Texas and South Carolina tied for second place with four each.
Across America, 28 men have been executed so far this year, putting the nation on track to surpass 2015’s total of 28 executions. At least ten more people are scheduled to die in seven states before year’s end.
John Blume, director of the Cornell Death Penalty Project, suggested the uptick appears linked to gubernatorial discretion rather than changes in public support or death sentence rates.
“The most cynical view would be: It seems to matter to the president, so it matters to them,” Blume said of state governors.
Execution method and procedures
Florida carries out executions using a three-drug lethal injection protocol consisting of a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.
The process typically begins with the condemned prisoner being strapped to a gurney and connected to intravenous lines. Witnesses, including media representatives and family members of both the victim and condemned, observe from separate viewing rooms.
If Bates’s execution proceeds as scheduled, he will become the 111th person executed in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Victim’s family seeks closure
Retired Bay County Sheriff Larry McKeithen, who investigated the case and arrested Bates, plans to witness the execution. “I’ve always wanted to see this one through,” McKeithen told local media.
The brutal nature of the crime left a lasting impact on the small Florida Panhandle community. White was just 24 years old when she was murdered, with her life cut tragically short in what prosecutors described as a premeditated attack.
Court records indicate Bates was a delivery driver for a Tallahassee paper company and had made at least one previous delivery to the insurance office where White worked.
More executions planned
Florida’s execution spree shows no signs of slowing. Curtis Windom, 59, is scheduled to become the eleventh person executed in the state on 28 August for killing three people in the Orlando area in 1992.
David Pittman, 63, faces execution on 17 September for fatally stabbing his estranged wife’s sister and parents at their Polk County home before setting it ablaze in 1990.
With 266 people currently on Florida’s death row, including two men in their eighties who have been awaiting execution for more than 40 years, the state’s death chamber is likely to remain busy.
Opposition groups continue holding vigils at the Florida capitol, outside the governor’s mansion, and near the state prison, though their prayers for mercy appear to fall on deaf ears.
As one activist noted: “He’s the one person who can stop this,” referring to Governor DeSantis. But with two more executions already scheduled and the governor showing no signs of slowing the pace, Florida’s record-breaking year of death sentences seems certain to continue.
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