Florida continued its execution spree on Tuesday. The state executed Kayle Bates (Maud Dib Al Sharif Qu’un), a 67-year-old Black Muslim veteran convicted of kidnapping, robbing, and killing Janet White in 1982.
Over the 40-plus years between his arrest and his execution on Tuesday, Bates’ case underwent multiple appeals, Justia reported.
After his conviction, the state Supreme Court affirmed his conviction, but remanded his death sentence for reconsideration. The sentence was reaffirmed, and the governor signed his death warrant, “but the trial court stayed his execution and ordered a new sentencing hearing due to ineffective counsel,” according to Justia. “The jury again recommended the death penalty, and the court imposed it.”
There is no denying that racism tainted the arrest, conviction, and execution of Bates. As Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty Executive Director Maria DeLiberato explained in a statement issued after he was killed, “Until his last breath tonight, Kayle’s prosecution and execution were poisoned by racial bias and scarred by the denial of basic constitutional rights. He was verbally abused and threatened by police during his interrogation. His trial opened with a prayer delivered by the victim’s own white minister, charging his all-white jury to follow God’s ‘wisdom and guidance’ and praying for ‘special wisdom’ for Kayle’s white judge. Kayle’s lawyers presented virtually no evidence to challenge his guilt and offered little reason for the jury to spare Kayle’s life. The jury convicted him and sentenced him to death after just 50 minutes of deliberation.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed two more death warrants. On August 28, Curtis Windom is scheduled to be killed, followed by David Joseph Pittman on September 17. If both executions proceed, for a total of ten this year, he will break an eleven-year record for the state. In 2014, there were eight executions, which had been the highest number since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty.