Days after attorneys for Kayle Bates (Maud Dib Al Sharif Qu’un) filed a federal civil rights lawsuit exposing racial bias and unconstitutional arbitrariness in Florida’s execution warrant process, a series of new court filings have laid bare the depth of Governor Ron DeSantis’ misconduct, including retaliatory action, manipulated statistics, and an entrentched pattern of racial discrimination.
According to the filings, just two hours after being served with Mr. Bates’ complaint, Governor DeSantis issued a death warrant for Curtis Windom. Mr. Windom is the only person on Florida’s death row with three Black victims and no white victims. This warrant signing broke from the Governor’s typical pattern of having no more than two death warrants pending at a time and was the first time in modern Florida history that three men were facing execution at the same time.
Bates’ attorneys argue that this “anomalous action” was taken “for the purpose of refuting Mr. Bates’ claims” by artificially inflating the number of Black victims in DeSantis-era executions, and is direct evidence of a warrant-selection process “actively wielding a racial impact.”
The Governor’s legal team claims there may be “other possible legitimate considerations” for selectingwho is executed, or, alarmingly, that selection could even be “random.” Bates’ attorneys point out that randomness is simply another word for arbitrariness, which the U.S. Supreme Court has long held to be unconstitutional in capital punishment (Furman v. Georgia, Gregg v. Georgia).
The Governor has also refused to disclose:
- Who is “warrant-eligible”
- What criteria are actually used
- Internal communications about Bates’ own warrant
The secrecy, they argue, is precisely why limited expedited discovery, including depositions of the Governor and Clemency Board, is necessary before Bates’ August 19 execution.
The filings document a recent history of racial discrimination by Governor DeSantis, including:
- Eliminating Black representation in North Florida through redistricting vetoes.
- Signing a non-unanimous death sentencing law that sidelines Black jurors.
- Public remarks minimizing slavery’s harms.
- Promoting or participating in racially charged online spaces.
- Targeting DEI programs for elimination.
- Supporting bans on classroom content that might make white people “uncomfortable.”
- Making “gator bait” jokes — a racist trope.
In a telling example, the Governor argued in court that the children of white Edward Zakrzewski, who was executed on July 31, are “not white enough” for statistical purposes because their mother is Korean. Bates’ attorneys liken this to the Jim Crow-era “one-drop rule”, calling it further evidence of racial bias in how victims are classified for political and legal advantage.
Bates’ lawsuit, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, does not challenge his conviction or death sentence — only the constitutionality of the process DeSantis uses to decide who is executed. The relief sought is simple: halt the execution until the process is free from racial discrimination and unconstitutional arbitrariness.
As Bates’ legal team told the court, “No one should be executed under a process infected with racial bias.”