Florida Inmate Who Murdered Cellmate to Get Death Penalty Is Executed
James Robertson, a 63-year-old Florida inmate who murdered his cellmate in 2008 to secure a death sentence, was executed Tuesday evening after waiving all appeals.
A 63-year-old inmate in Florida who confessed to murdering his cellmate in 2008 in order to secure his own death sentence was executed Tuesday evening, fulfilling a nearly two-decade wish. James Robertson's death by lethal injection was confirmed at 12:21 PM local time at a correctional facility north of Fort Myers.
Robertson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and waived all appeals after strangling his cellmate, Frank Hart, using braided socks while Hart slept. Court records show that Robertson had been incarcerated since 1980 following a string of convictions for burglary and assault, subsequently adding more time to his sentence for offenses committed behind bars. During his trial for Hart's murder, Robertson explicitly told the court he wanted to die rather than spend the rest of his life in prison.
Opponents of capital punishment pointed to Robertson's case as a stark illustration of the system's flaws. Maria DeLiberto, legal and policy director for Florida opponents of the death penalty, argued that Hart was denied basic protection and suggested that the existence of capital punishment can itself instigate prison violence.
Robertson's execution was the 17th carried out by Florida in 2026. Governor Ron DeSantis, whose term ends in January, has presided over a significant surge in executions, leading the nation with 19 executions in 2025 and continuing a high pace into the current year. DeSantis has previously defended the pace as a measure of justice for victims' families who have waited decades for final resolutions.