'Nah, I'm Straight': James Robertson's Chilling Final Reply After Killing Cellmate To Get Death Penalty

James Robertson, a 63-year-old Florida inmate who killed his cellmate in an attempt to secure a death sentence, was executed at Florida State Prison on Tuesday, 13 October. Gulf Coast News Now reported that, when asked whether he had any final words, Robertson replied, 'Nah, I'm straight.'

The Florida Department of Corrections said Robertson was pronounced dead at 12:32pm EDT following a lethal injection. He was executed nearly 18 years after killing Frank Hart in 2008.

Why Robertson Killed His Cellmate

Robertson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Hart's killing. According to reporting on the case, he said he strangled Hart in their shared cell because he wanted a death sentence rather than life imprisonment. He later waived his appeals, allowing the execution to proceed without further appeals from him.

Hart had been incarcerated since 2003 after a conviction for sexual battery. He was due to be released eight days after he was killed, according to reports. His daughter, Rebecca Hart, spoke to reporters outside the prison about the loss of her father.

The case has drawn attention because of the unusual circumstances surrounding the killing. Hart was nearing the end of his sentence, while Robertson, by his own account, wanted to escape a life sentence by securing the state's most severe punishment.

Robertson had been in prison since 1980, when he was 17, after convictions for burglary and assault. He later accumulated further convictions, including for escape, battery and weapons offences. The additional convictions meant he remained incarcerated in the years before Hart's death.

Conflicting Accounts of Final Words

Accounts of Robertson's final words differed. Gulf Coast News Now reported that he replied, 'Nah, I'm straight,' when asked whether he had anything to say, though other reports noted he made no formal statement before the lethal injection

The available reports do not establish whether the accounts reflect a difference in wording or in how the response was characterised. What is not disputed is that Robertson was pronounced dead at 12:32pm, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

Robertson's execution was Florida's 17th in 2026. According to Associated Press reporting, the state accounted for more than half of the executions carried out in the United States by that date. Two further executions were reported to be scheduled at the time, although execution dates remain subject to change.

Governor Ron DeSantis oversaw 19 executions in Florida in 2025, according to the Associated Press, more than any Florida governor in a single year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The pace has kept the state at the centre of the US debate over capital punishment.

The execution followed a failed attempt to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection in Tennessee on 30 September. Pike survived the procedure and was taken to hospital. The case renewed scrutiny of lethal-injection procedures in the United States.

Robertson's case sits within that wider debate, but it is distinct in one respect. He said he killed his cellmate to obtain a death sentence rather than continue serving a life sentence, and he later waived his appeals.

For Hart's family, the execution came nearly 18 years after his death, which happened eight days before he was due to be released. Robertson was pronounced dead at 12:32pm on Tuesday, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.