James Robertson, 63, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2008 strangling of Frank Hart, is set to be executed on Tuesday, October 13, nearly 18 years after the fatal attack. Robertson waived all appeals and is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke starting at noon.
The execution is going ahead despite concerns over the method after the incident with teen killer Christa Pike. The 50-year-old was admitted to hospital after surviving two doses of pentobarbital as the state attempted to execute her for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer.
Death warrant withdrawn for another inmate
Robertson was supposed to be one of two executions carried out by Florida on Tuesday, but governor Ron DeSantis withdrew a death warrant last week for William Lee Thompson. The Republican governor did not provide a reason for withdrawing Thompson’s death warrant but had temporarily stayed his execution last month pending a psychiatric evaluation.
Records show that this is the first time Mr DeSantis has withdrawn a death warrant, which does not technically change Thompson’s sentence. He will remain on death row, and a new death warrant could be signed for him in the future.
Pike incident raises concerns
Robertson’s execution comes at a time of escalating attention on the death penalty in the US following the incident with Pike making headlines across the globe. In Tennessee, Pike survived an execution attempt two weeks ago despite receiving two lethal doses of pentobarbital. At one point, Pike was on a ventilator and her attorneys did not expect her to survive.
However, they said she woke up and began talking and walking with assistance, and she has since been discharged and is back at the Debra K Johnson Rehabilitation Centre, the women’s prison where she was housed for 30 years. The Tennessee Department of Correction has not said what went wrong in the attempted execution. Medical and lethal injection experts have focused on whether a problem with the IV line caused the drug to pool in her tissue instead of entering her bloodstream.
Florida defends its process
Florida Department of Corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland was asked at a press conference early on Tuesday how the state planned to make sure what happened to Pike in Tennessee would not happen in Florida. “Florida has a sound lethal injection process and protocol,” Mr Kirkland said, noting he cannot speak on Tennessee’s lethal injection procedure. “We are very committed to carrying that out in a humane and dignified manner.”
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
Robertson's crime and background
According to court records, Robertson was incarcerated at Charlotte Correctional Institution, north of Fort Myers, in December 2008 when he tied several socks together and strangled Hart while the other man slept. Robertson told investigators that the attack was unprovoked and that he killed his cellmate so that he would be sentenced to death, rather than having to live out his days in prison.
Robertson was 17-years-old when he went to prison in 1980 for burglary and assault. Years of convictions for escape, battery and weapons while in prison kept adding time to his total sentence. Hart was sent to prison in 2003 following a sexual battery conviction.
Robertson pleaded guilty and waived a penalty phase, where a jury would recommend the death penalty or life in prison. A judge sentenced Robertson to death, and he later waived all post-conviction proceedings. Robertson reiterated his position during a hearing earlier this month, telling a judge that he understood his execution had been scheduled and that he did not want to make any final appeals to the Florida Supreme Court or US Supreme Court. Robertson would be the state’s 17th execution of 2026, with two more already scheduled, not counting Thompson.
