Florida schedules execution of inmate who killed cellmate to secure death row
James Robertson, 63, will be put to death in Florida after admitting he strangled his cellmate in 2008 to earn a death-row sentence.
In Florida, 63-year-old James Robertson is slated for execution after confessing to the 2008 murder of his cellmate, Frank Hart, at Charlotte Correctional Institution. Court records detail that Robertson bound several socks together and strangled Hart as he slept, claiming the motive was to be sentenced to death rather than remain in the general prison population. He subsequently pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and voluntarily relinquished his right to appeal.
The state has scheduled a three-drug lethal injection to be administered at Florida State Prison near Starke, beginning at noon. Robertson's case highlights the rare circumstance of an inmate seeking the death penalty for himself. The execution will proceed unless a court intervenes.
Why it matters
The case shows an inmate deliberately seeking execution, raising questions about death-penalty policy and prison safety.
How this story developed
- Oct 1 A grim tally of botched executions from hanging mishaps to lethal-injection failures
- Oct 6 Christa Pike is still unconscious on a ventilator after a failed lethal-injection attempt in Tennessee, according to her lawyers.
- Oct 7 Governor Lee suspended all remaining executions in Tennessee.
- Oct 8 Reports indicate Pike now has pneumonia, a blood clot and total loss of arm function.
- Oct 8 A chancery court judge ordered preservation of all execution‑chamber evidence.
- Oct 8 Christa Pike, who survived a failed lethal-injection execution, has stood and taken steps while still experiencing severe mental confusion.
- Oct 9 A Tennessee court ordered all materials from the botched execution to be kept as evidence.
- Oct 10 State leaders announced a review of execution methods following the failed lethal injection.
- Oct 10 Pike was discharged from the hospital and moved to the Debra K Johnson Rehabilitation Center.
- Oct 10 Her handcuffs were removed while a foot remains shackled to the bed.
- Oct 12 Christa Pike survived a botched lethal-injection execution in Tennessee, but emergency responders waited over half an hour before confirming a 911 call was legitimate.
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