Florida executes killer who murdered cellmate to get death penalty

A Florida man who said he murdered his cellmate in hopes of securing a death sentence was executed Tuesday.

James Robertson, 63, died after being injected with three drugs at Florida State Prison. He was pronounced dead approximately 10 minutes after the lethal injection.

Robertson declined to make a final statement when asked if he had any final words.

“No, I’m straight,” he replied.

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James Robertson, who said he killed his cellmate specifically to land on death row, was executed Tuesday. (Florida Department of Corrections)

Robertson’s execution stands in stark contrast to the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee two weeks ago, when she survived two doses of pentobarbital and was rushed to the hospital. Pike has since been released from the hospital and returned to prison.

“Florida has an effective lethal injection process and protocol,” Jordan Kirkland, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, said at a news conference before the execution.

While he couldn’t speak to Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol, Kirkland said Florida would ensure its process is “humane and dignified.”

Florida injects death row inmates with a sedative, paralytic and heart-stopping drug when they are put to death, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Robertson had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for strangling his cellmate, Frank Hart, while he slept in 2008. He waived all appeals and told investigators he killed the man so he would receive the death penalty and not have to live out the rest of his days behind bars.

Hart was killed just eight days before his release, according to his daughter, Rebecca Hart, who stressed that her father was not just a part of Robertson’s story.

“When someone you love is taken from you in such a violent way, the world keeps moving, even though part of you feels like it has stopped,” she told reporters outside the prison. “Others go on with their lives, but you carry your loss into each tomorrow.”

Hart was sentenced to prison in 2003 following a sexual assault conviction.

James Robertson, 63, died after being injected with three drugs at Florida State Prison. (AP Photo/Curt Anderson, file)

Robertson was just 17 when he was sent to prison in 1980 for burglary and assault. Additional convictions for escape, battery and weapons extended his prison sentence.

Florida was initially scheduled to execute two people on Tuesday, but Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last week withdrew an execution order against William Lee Thompson, 74, who was sentenced to death for his role in the 1976 kidnapping and murder of 23-year-old Sally Ivester. He was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in connection with Ivester’s death.

DeSantis did not provide a reason for stopping the execution, but had temporarily stayed the execution last month pending a psychiatric evaluation due to concerns about Thompson’s mental capacity and his deteriorating health. His lawyers said he suffered from dementia and failing health and wanted him transferred to a medical facility.

It was the first time DeSantis withdrew a death warrant. Thompson will remain on death row and a new death warrant may be signed in the future.

DeSantis is the third Florida governor to sign a death warrant against Thompson. Former governors. Bob Graham and Bob Martinez each scheduled executions for Thompson in the 1980s, but he avoided the electric chair, the method of execution used by the state at the time, after years of appeals and reprieves.

In July, Florida executed two prisoners in a single day, the first time a state had done so in nearly a decade.

Florida has increased its pace of executions amid a wave of execution orders signed by DeSantis since 2025. The governor oversaw a record 19 executions last year, more than any other Florida governor in a single year since reinstating the death penalty in 1976, accounting for about 40% of the U.S. total for 2025.

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The execution of James Robertson contrasted with the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee two weeks earlier. (Greg Smith/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images; Tennessee Department of Correction via AP)

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Last year, 47 executions took place across the country, the highest annual total since 2009.

Florida has carried out more than half of the country’s 31 total executions so far this year.

Robertson was the Sunshine State’s 17th execution in 2026, with two more already scheduled, not including Thompson.

William Reaves, 77, who was convicted of fatally shooting a deputy in 1986, is scheduled to be executed Oct. 20. Jesse Guardado, 64, is scheduled to be executed on November 5 for robbing and killing a woman to buy drugs in 2004.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.