22-05-2025
South Carolina death row inmate fires attorney and asks court to expedite his execution
A man on South Carolina's death row has surrendered his appeals and fired his attorney.
James D. Robertson, convicted of killing his parents in the late 1990s, wrote a letter to Chief U.S. Federal Court Judge Timothy M. Cain stating he intends to withdraw his federal appeal, relieve his lawyers, and represent himself. A court-requested attorney has until July to determine if Robertson is capable of representing himself.
The request could lead to Robertson being executed before exhausting his appeals. Robertson was represented by Emily Paavola of Justice 360, a Columbia firm.
According to court documents, Robertson killed Earl and Terry Robertson, both 49, with a hammer and a baseball bat in their Rock Hill home in November 1997.
In the letter to the judge, Robertson said he relieved Paavola as his attorney because no attorney would withdraw his execution appeal.
Robertson previously tried to withdraw his appeals in 2002.
According to documents Paavola sent to the U.S. District Court, Robertson's request was due to mental illness, medical issues, and the loss of fellow death row inmates. Marion Bowman, executed by lethal injection on Jan. 31, was a close friend.
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Paavloa asked that the court delay a decision on Robertson's request so he could be evaluated.
U.S. District Judge Mary Gordon Baker appointed Columbia-based attorney John L. Warren III to make sure Robertson is competent enough to represent himself.
There have been five men executed in South Carolina since September. Mikel Mahdi was the last man executed on April 11. He died via firing squad.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SC death row inmate fires attorney, seeks accelerated execution date
