Florida to execute a prisoner who killed his cellmate in hopes of getting a death sentence

James Robertson, 63, is set to be executed in Florida on Tuesday, nearly 18 years after he killed his cellmate in 2008 to be sentenced to death. Robertson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and waived all appeals in the 2008 strangling of Frank Hart. The execution, set to take place at Florida State Prison near Starke, will involve a three-drug injection at noon.

Robertson, 17 at the time of the crime, claimed the attack was unprovoked and he wanted to be sentenced to death rather than live in prison. He had been incarcerated since 1980 for burglary and assault, with additional convictions for escape, battery, and weapons offenses adding time to his sentence. Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew a death warrant for William Lee Thompson last week, but the reason for the withdrawal and Thompson's renewed death sentence are not specified.

The execution of Robertson follows heightened attention on the death penalty in the US, including a failed execution in Tennessee and a planned livestreamed firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan. Florida's Department of Corrections spokesperson assured the public that the state's lethal injection process is sound and humane.

Robertson claimed the attack was unprovoked and that he killed his cellmate to be sentenced to death, rather than live in prison.