Robertson, convicted of the 2008 murder of his cellmate Frank Hart, had withdrawn all appeals on 5 October and pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder, saying he committed the crime unprovoked because he wanted to be on death row. He was the 17th prisoner executed by Florida in 2026.
The execution resumed the aggressive use of the death penalty pursued by Governor Ron DeSantis, who is set to leave office in January. Florida executed a modern-day record of 19 inmates in 2025, and if two scheduled executions proceed as planned later this month and in November, the state would tie that record.
DeSantis on Friday withdrew the death warrant for William Lee Thompson, 74, who was set to die hours after Robertson. An executive order cited a medical evaluation and assessment by Thompson's lawyer that 'Thompson may be insane.' Attorneys claim Thompson suffers from dementia and believed George W. Bush was still president. He remains on death row, and a new death warrant could still be signed.
The execution followed widespread scrutiny of lethal injection procedures after Tennessee authorities abandoned the attempt to execute Christa Pike on 30 September, discharging her from hospital on 10 October and returning her to prison. Asked how Florida could guarantee no repeat of that incident, Kirkland said: 'Florida has a sound lethal injection process and protocol,' adding that he could not speak about what happened in Tennessee. 'We are very committed to carrying that out in a humane and dignified manner.' All Florida executions use a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state corrections department.
William Reaves, 77, is scheduled to die on 20 October for the 1986 murder of a sheriff's deputy, and Jesse Guardado, 64, is set for execution on 5 November for a 2004 murder.