Story perspectives

DeSantis Withdraws Execution Warrant, Halting Double Execution

By Drooid · Oct 14, 2026, 2:57 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

James Robertson Executed

James Robertson, 63, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on Oct. 13, 2026.
He confessed to strangling Frank Hart with a sock garrote in Dec. 2008, pleaded guilty and waived penalty phase and appeals.
The execution was Florida’s 17th lethal injection in 2026, putting the state on pace for 19 this year.
Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew William Lee Thompson’s death warrant, ending a planned double execution.

Summary

Florida Courts Exonerate

Florida has recorded 30 death-row exonerations in the past 50 years, the nation’s highest.
Those men had previously received execution dates before courts cleared them.
Experts say many additional wrongful convictions likely remain undiscovered in Florida’s large death-row population.
Inmates spend up to 30 days in a “death watch” unit 30 feet from the execution chamber.
Psychologists describe the proximity as mental torture that heightens anxiety among condemned prisoners.

History

Historical Context

After the Supreme Court’s 1976 Gregg v. Georgia decision ended the Furman moratorium, Utah resumed executions with Gary Gilmore in 1977 and Florida carried out its first post-reinstatement death, John Spenkelink, in 1979 using electrocution. The framework has produced 1,660 U.S. executions through March 2026, prompting current Tallahassee debates led by Governor Ron DeSantis and the Innocence Project.

1 of 3

James Robertson Executed

James Robertson, 63, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on Oct. 13, 2026.
He confessed to strangling Frank Hart with a sock garrote in Dec. 2008, pleaded guilty and waived penalty phase and appeals.
The execution was Florida’s 17th lethal injection in 2026, putting the state on pace for 19 this year.
Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew William Lee Thompson’s death warrant, ending a planned double execution.

1 / 3