Florida executed James Robertson on Tuesday, the AP reported in a story carried by the Los Angeles Times. He was 63. He died at 12:32 p.m. after a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.

Robertson was already serving time in 2008 when he strangled his cellmate, Frank Hart. He later said he killed Hart because he wanted to be sentenced to death. He gave up his appeals, and he did not fight the execution in court during the weeks before it was carried out.

It was Florida's 17th execution of 2026. It came as many people are taking a closer look at lethal injections, after a failed attempt to execute Christa Pike in Tennessee in September, the Guardian reported.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed death warrants at a fast pace this year. Two more executions are already set, one for Oct. 20 and one for Nov. 5. If both go ahead, Florida will tie its modern record of 19 executions in one year, which it set in 2025, the AP reported.

DeSantis also withdrew a death warrant for another prisoner, William Lee Thompson. The AP said the governor did not give a reason. The Guardian reported that his order cited a medical evaluation and an assessment by Thompson's lawyer.

Florida carries out its executions at Florida State Prison, in a rural part of north Florida near the towns of Starke and Raiford. Under state law, the governor decides when to sign a death warrant. He sets the date once the courts have finished their review.

What we know: Robertson was executed at 12:32 p.m. on Tuesday, and it was Florida's 17th execution this year.
What we don't: Whether Thompson's case will return to the execution calendar.