Florida Executes Inmate Who Wanted Cellmate Put to Death

A Florida inmate who smothered his cellmate, hoping to be sentenced to death rather than serve the rest of his years in prison, was executed on Tuesday.

Krista Pike survives botched execution as Tennessee governor orders review

A Florida man who said he killed his cellmate in hopes of getting a death sentence was executed on Tuesday.

James Robertson, 63, died in a Florida state prison after being injected with three drugs. He was pronounced dead about 10 minutes after the lethal injection.

Asked if he had any final words, Robertson declined to make a final comment.

Two Florida inmates have died in a rare double execution after being denied residency

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

Robertson's execution was in stark contrast to the botched execution of Krista 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.

Jordan Kirkland, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said at a news conference before the execution: "Florida has an acoustic lethal injection process and protocol."

While he could not discuss Tennessee's lethal injection protocol, Kirkland said Florida will make sure the process is "humane and honorable."

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, inmates on death row are injected with a sedative, a paralyzing drug and a drug that stops the heart if they die.

Robertson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2008 while strangling his cellmate, Frank Hart. He waived all appeals, telling investigators he killed the man so he would be given the death penalty and not have to spend the rest of his days behind bars.

Hart was killed just eight days before his release, according to his daughter Rebecca Hart, who insisted her father was not the only part of Robertson's story.

"When someone you love is taken from you with such violence, the world keeps going, even when a part of you feels like it has stopped," he told reporters outside the jail. "Others move on with their lives, but you carry your loss to every tomorrow."

Hart was sentenced to prison in 2003 on a sex conviction.

Robertson was only 17 when he was sent to prison in 1980 for robbery and assault. Additional convictions for escape, weapons and weapons offenses led to an extension of his prison term.

Florida was originally scheduled to execute two people on Tuesday, but Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last week revoked the death sentence of William Lee Thompson, 74, who was sentenced to death for his role in the 1976 kidnapping and killing of 23-year-old Sally Ivester. He was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual assault in connection with Ivester's death.

DeSantis did not give a reason for the stay, but last month temporarily suspended the execution pending a psychiatric evaluation because of concerns about Thompson's mental competency and deteriorating health. His lawyers said he was suffering from dementia and failing health and wanted to move him to a medical facility.

This was the first time that DeSantis had a death sentence revoked. Thompson will remain on death row and a new death sentence may be signed in the future.

DeSantis is the third Florida governor to sign Thompson's death sentence. Former administrations Bob Graham and Bob Martinez each scheduled Thompson in the 1980s, but he avoided the electric chair, the execution method at the time, after years of pleas and stays.

In July, Florida executed two inmates on the same day, the first time a state has done so in nearly a decade.

Florida has increased the pace of its executions amid a flurry of death sentences signed by DeSantis through 2025. The governor oversaw a record 19 executions last year, more than any other governor in Florida in one year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, accounting for roughly 40.5% of U20s.

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Last year, 47 executions were carried out across the country, the highest annual number since 2009.

Florida has carried out more than half of the nation's 31 executions so far this year.

Robertson was the Sunshine State's 17th execution of 2026, with two more already scheduled, excluding Thompson.

William Reeves, 77, convicted of fatally shooting a deputy in 1986, is scheduled to be executed on Oct. 20. Jesse Guardado, 64, is scheduled to be executed on Nov. 5 for robbing and killing a woman for a drug deal in 2004.

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