Florida carried out its 17th execution of 2026 on Tuesday, putting James Robertson to death by lethal injection for the 2008 murder of his cellmate, Frank Hart, at Florida State Prison. Protesters gathered outside the facility, and later in the day Gov. Ron DeSantis canceled a separate execution that had been scheduled for 6 p.m.
The cancellation caught attention. Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty said the group is starting to feel like its voices are being heard, though the governor allowed Robertson’s execution to proceed the same day. Two more warrants are already signed, with executions set for October 20 and November 5. If both move forward, Florida will reach 19 executions this year, matching last year’s record and leading the nation by a wide margin.
The bigger question is what comes next. Florida is executing inmates at a pace no other state is matching, and the same-day mix of a completed execution and a cancellation has people on both sides of the issue watching closely. The next scheduled date is just a week away.
Where do you stand on Florida’s execution pace? Let us know in the comments.
