James Robertson sentenced to die after guilty plea near Starke
James Robertson faces execution Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. The lethal injection follows his choice to waive all legal appeals in the fatal attack on his cellmate. He is set to receive a three-drug injection starting at noon.
Gov. Ron DeSantis withdrew a death warrant last week for death row inmate William Lee Thompson. The governor did not provide a reason for that decision. He had temporarily stayed the execution last month pending a psychiatric evaluation.
Records show this is the first time DeSantis has withdrawn a death warrant. The action does not change Thompson’s sentence. Thompson will remain on death row.
A new death warrant could be signed for Thompson in the future. Attorneys said Thompson has dementia. They said his health is failing.
Florida planned two executions for Tuesday before that warrant was withdrawn. Robertson is 63 years old. He pleaded guilty in the 2008 strangling of Frank Hart.
Court records state the incident happened at Charlotte Correctional Institution, north of Fort Myers. Robertson tied several socks together and strangled Hart. The other man slept during the attack.
Robertson told investigators the attack was unprovoked. He said he killed his cellmate to get a death sentence. He said he did not want to live out his days in prison.
Robertson was 17 years old when he went to prison in 1980 for burglary and assault. Later convictions for escape, battery and weapons added more time. Hart entered prison in 2003 following a sexual battery conviction.
Robertson waived a penalty phase before a jury. A judge sentenced him to death. Robertson later waived all post-conviction proceedings.
Robertson told a judge at a recent hearing that he understood the schedule. He said he did not want to make any final appeals. He declined filings with the Florida Supreme Court or U.S. Supreme Court.
Opponents of the death penalty say Robertson’s case undermines claims that executions deter murder. Maria DeLiberato serves as legal and policy director for Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
DeLiberato said Hart deserved to be safe in prison. She spoke about the impact of the penalty.
the existence of the death penalty may have caused the very violence it purportedly prevents.
Florida Department of Corrections spokesperson Jordan Kirkland addressed media questions at an early Tuesday press conference. Reporters asked about Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike, who survived an execution attempt two weeks ago. Kirkland addressed the state protocol.
Florida has a sound lethal injection process and protocol. We are very committed to carrying that out in a humane and dignified manner.
The Pentagon announced last week that the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan would be livestreamed. All Florida executions use a three-drug mixture, according to the Department of Corrections. The drugs include a sedative, a paralytic and a heart-stopping agent.
DeSantis is the third Florida governor to sign a death warrant for Thompson. Former governors Bob Graham and Bob Martinez both scheduled executions for Thompson in the 1980s. Stays allowed Thompson to avoid the electric chair.
Thompson was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in the 1976 killing of 23-year-old Sally Ivester. Only one other inmate remains alive following a death warrant signed by DeSantis. That inmate is 80-year-old James Dailey.
Dailey was scheduled to die in late 2019 for the murder of a 14-year-old girl. A federal judge halted the execution while attorneys argued against his guilt. The stay was lifted, but no new warrant was signed.
The state halted all executions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Capital punishment resumed in 2023. DeSantis leaves office in January.
DeSantis oversaw 19 executions in 2025. Robertson marks the state’s 17th execution of 2026. Two more executions are scheduled this year.
- William Reaves, 77, scheduled for Oct. 20
- Jesse Guardado, 64, scheduled for Nov. 5
Reaves was convicted of fatally shooting a deputy in 1986. Guardado was convicted of robbing and killing a woman in 2004. These scheduled executions would match the 2025 state total.
A total of 47 people were executed across the nation in 2025. Florida has carried out more than half of the 30 nationwide executions so far this year. In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day.
Capital punishment cases in Florida move through state and federal courts after a warrant is signed. The Department of Corrections manages execution protocols at state prison facilities in Starke. Inmates may waive legal challenges through formal court hearings before a judge.
Robertson remains held ahead of the scheduled noon execution.
