Shraman Mitra
Sexual battery convict Frank Hart had no idea that he would meet his end behind bars at the hands of a co-prisoner. However, in December 2008, Florida’s Charlotte Correctional Institution authorities found him dead in his cell. Netflix’s ‘I Am a Killer: Means To An End’ chronicles the shocking murder and shows how the police quickly zeroed in on the perpetrator.
How Did Frank Hart Die?
Born on July 13, 1956, Frank Hart was a native of the state of Florida. According to reports, he had committed a sexual battery crime in Florida’s Volusia County in December 1993. It did not take long for authorities to suspect Frank of the crime, and when produced in court, the Florida native was sentenced to four years in prison in 1994. The show mentioned that he served his time and was released normally, yet the police soon discovered that he had failed to register as a sexual offender once out of prison.
Thus, Frank was arrested again and sentenced to 9 to 11 years in prison in 2003. Interestingly, in late 2008, he was asked to share a cell with a fellow prisoner at the Charlotte Correctional Institution in Punta Gorda, Florida. But shortly after, on December 10, 2008, authorities found 52-year-old Frank’s lifeless body lying on the floor of his cell. Medical examiners soon rushed to the scene, but he was declared dead, and an autopsy determined that he had been strangled.
Who Killed Frank Hart?
Frank’s cellmate, James Robertson, was present in the cell with Frank’s deceased body when authorities first discovered the murder. Moreover, since the victim was last seen alive in the latter’s company, the police naturally suspected him of the crime. Once investigators delved into James’ past, they realized he was a career criminal who had been in and out of prison multiple times throughout his life. The show mentioned that he had a criminal record from when he was a teenager and revealed that he had been sentenced to prison for all kinds of crimes, including robbery, petty theft, and even being an accessory to murder.
Furthermore, the Netflix episode stated that James’ sentence was increased as he tried to escape from jail and was responsible for several prison fights. Nevertheless, before coming in contact with Frank, he was kept in solitary confinement for quite some time, which supposedly infuriated him. Desperate to find a way out and determined not to share his cell with a sexual offender, James decided to take matters into his own hands. He made a garrote from two socks and waited for an opportune moment to strike; finally, on December 10, 2008, he used a 25-minute window between the guard patrols and strangled Frank to death.
James Robertson is Still on Death Row
Interestingly, while James pled guilty to Frank’s murder, he was not given the death penalty immediately. However, the prisoner almost pleaded to be sentenced to death, and ultimately, in 2012, the authorities agreed and placed him on death row. Since then, James has been on death row at the Florida State Prison in Raiford, Florida, and mentioned that being sentenced to death was one of his methods to get out of solitary confinement. Nonetheless, viewers should note that there is no news of a specific execution date as of writing.
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