Florida Executes Inmate Who Killed Cellmate to Receive Death Penalty
James Robertson, 63, died by lethal injection after waiving all appeals and stating he murdered his cellmate to be executed.
Florida executed inmate James Robertson, 63, on Tuesday after he killed his cellmate, Frank Hart, in 2008. Robertson died by lethal injection at Florida State Prison approximately 10 minutes after the procedure began. He declined to make a final statement.
Robertson had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for strangling Hart while he slept. Investigators were told by Robertson that he committed the murder specifically to receive the death penalty, rather than spend the rest of his life in prison. Hart was just eight days away from his scheduled release at the time of his death.
Robertson's execution occurred after a botched execution in Tennessee two weeks prior, where inmate Christa Pike survived two doses of lethal injection and was hospitalized. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Corrections stated that Florida has a "sound lethal injection process and protocol" and that the state would ensure its execution process was "humane and dignified."
Florida's lethal injection protocol involves a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug to stop the heart. Robertson, who had a history of prison offenses dating back to his 1980 incarceration at age 17 for burglary and assault, was serving a sentence for multiple convictions including escape, battery, and weapons offenses.
Robertson's execution was the 17th in Florida for 2026. The state had initially planned to execute another inmate, William Lee Thompson, 74, on Tuesday. However, Gov. Ron DeSantis withdrew Thompson's death warrant last week. Thompson was sentenced for his role in a 1976 kidnapping and killing and has had multiple prior execution dates stayed or withdrawn due to concerns about his mental competency and deteriorating health.
Florida has seen an increased pace of executions under Governor DeSantis, with 19 executions in the previous year, the highest annual total since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. This accounted for approximately 40% of the nation's total executions in 2025. In July, Florida executed two inmates in a single day, the first instance of such in nearly a decade.
Two more executions are scheduled in Florida: William Reaves, convicted of fatally shooting a deputy in 1986, on Oct. 20, and Jesse Guardado, convicted of robbery and murder in 2004, on Nov. 5.