By Heather Hollingsworth | Associated Press
A man who abducted a woman from a Florida insurance office and killed her is scheduled for execution in Florida under a death warrant signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Kayle Bates is set to die Aug. 19 in the 10th execution scheduled for this year. DeSantis signed the warrant Friday, just three days after the state executed Michael Bell for fatally shooting two people outside a Florida bar in 1993 as part of an attempted revenge killing.
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Bell was the 26th person to die by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., exceeding the 25 executions carried out last year. It is the highest total since 2015, when 28 people were put to death.
Bates, now 67, was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and attempted sexual battery in the June 14, 1982, Bay County killing of Janet White.
Bates abducted White from the State Farm insurance office where she worked, took her into some woods behind the building, attempted to rape her, stabbed her to death, and tore a diamond ring from one of her fingers, according to a letter from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier summarizing the history of the case.
Bates’ attorney, James Driscoll Jr., said in a phone call Saturday that he would be filing further appeals in the case.
“We believe his execution would violate the U.S. constitution,” he said.