Deceased: William "Bill" Kelley

Florida DOC records show that Bill Kelley died yesterday after 40 years on Florida's death row.

Photo of Kelley, accessed from the Florida Department of Corrections

According to Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) records, Florida death row prisoner William “Bill” Kelley died Tuesday while in DOC custody after serving 40 years on death row for crimes that occurred in Highlands County in 1966.

Kelley was 81 years old and would’ve turned 82 on December 8.

The cause of Kelley’s death is unclear. State policy requires that an autopsy be performed for all deaths; however, those records would only be accessible through a public records request.

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Background on Kelley’s Sentence of Death

Kelley was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1984 for crimes that occurred in October 1966. The jury’s vote for death was 8-3.¹

On direct appeal in 1986, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed Kelley’s conviction and sentence of death.² His sentence of death became final in October 1986.

In 1990, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of Kelley’s request for postconviction relief.³

In 2002, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted Kelley habeas relief, finding that “the state failed to disclose materially exculpatory evidence as required by Brady and its progeny, thus undermining confidence in the outcome of Kelley's trial.”⁴ However, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision in 2004.⁵

In 2007, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of Kelley’s request for postconviction DNA testing.⁶

In 2009, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of Kelley’s successive request for postconviction relief under Brady and petition for writ of habeas corpus based on evidence that was destroyed before trial.⁷

In 2018, the Florida Supreme Court denied Kelley Hurst relief because his sentence became final before 2002.⁸

1. Kelley v. State, 235 So. 3d 280, 281 (Fla. 2018).

2. Kelley v. State, 486 So. 2d 578 (Fla. 1986).

3. Kelley v. State, 569 So. 2d 754 (Fla. 1990).

4. Kelley v. Singletary, 222 F. Supp. 2d 1357 (S.D. Fla. 2002).

5. Kelley v. Sec’y for Dep’t of Corrs., 377 F.3d 1317 (11th Cir. 2004).

6. Kelley v. State, 974 So. 2d 1047 (Fla. 2007).

7. Kelley v. State, 3 So. 3d 970 (Fla. 2009).

8. For a full explanation of Hurst, see the five-part TFDP series available here.