A Florida prisoner who stated he murdered his cellmate to receive the death penalty was executed Tuesday, nearly 18 years after the assault.

James Robertson, 63, did not make any final statements before receiving a three-drug lethal injection. He was pronounced dead approximately 10 minutes later.

Robertson's execution is the first in Florida since the controversial execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee two weeks prior, where she was hospitalized after surviving two lethal doses. The Pentagon also recently announced it would livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, drawing bipartisan criticism.

"Florida has a sound lethal injection process and protocol," said Jordan Kirkland, a spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections, at a press conference before the execution. He assured that Florida's process would be "humane and dignified."

Robertson had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for strangling his cellmate, Frank Hart, in 2008. He waived all appeals, telling investigators he committed the act to avoid spending his remaining life in prison. Hart was eight days away from his scheduled release at the time of his death.

Robertson first entered prison in 1980 at age 17, serving time for burglary and assault. His sentence was extended over the years due to convictions for escape, battery, and weapons charges while incarcerated. Hart had been imprisoned since 2003 for a sexual battery conviction.

Robertson was slated to be one of two executions in Florida on Tuesday, but Gov. Ron DeSantis withdrew the death warrant for William Lee Thompson last week. The governor's office did not provide a reason for the withdrawal, though Thompson's execution had been temporarily stayed the previous month for a psychiatric evaluation. Thompson, 74, will remain on death row.

Thompson was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual battery in the 1976 killing of 23-year-old Sally Ivester.

Florida has the highest execution rate in the nation. DeSantis oversaw 19 executions in 2025, the most of any Florida governor since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. Robertson's execution marked the state's 17th of 2026, with two more scheduled, not including Thompson.

DeSantis, whose term ends in January, has previously stated that his goal is to bring justice to victims' families who have waited decades for sentences to be carried out.

William Reaves, 77, is scheduled for execution on Oct. 20, and Jesse Guardado, 64, on Nov. 5. Reaves was convicted of fatally shooting a deputy in 1986, and Guardado was convicted of robbing and killing a woman for drug money in 2004.

Nationally, 47 people were executed in 2025. Florida has carried out more than half of the 31 executions in the U.S. so far this year. In July, Florida executed two prisoners in a single day, the first time any state had done so in nearly a decade.