Florida is scheduled to execute James Robertson, 63, by lethal injection today at noon at Florida State Prison. Robertson was convicted of strangling his cellmate, Frank Hart, with tied socks at Charlotte Correctional Institution in 2008. Prosecutors say he later confessed, telling investigators he was tired of prison life. If carried out, it will be the state’s 17th execution this year.
The timing matters. This is Florida’s first execution since Tennessee’s attempt on Krista Pike failed, twice. Pike survived two doses of execution drugs and has returned to prison, a case that has renewed national scrutiny of lethal injection protocols and how states handle failure at the death chamber.
Seventeen executions in a single year represents a pace Florida hasn’t matched in decades, and it has reignited debate about both the frequency of capital punishment here and the methods used to carry it out. Supporters point to the will of juries and the law. Critics point to Tennessee and ask what happens when a state gets it wrong.
Where do you land on Florida’s record pace of executions this year? Let us know in the comments.
