Unrepentant killer Robert Charles Gleason Jr. was happy to be strapped to the electric chair Wednesday night, but left a parting shot as his final words: "Kiss my ass."
Gleason, who was serving life in prison for a 2007 murder and also killed his cellmate, actually uttered his remarks in Irish Gaelic — the phrase “Pog mo thoin.”
The 42-year-old inmate is the country’s first execution of 2013, and the first to die by electrocution in Virginia since 2010.
He vowed he would strike again if he wasn’t put to death.
Despite pleas from his former court-appointed attorneys, who believed he needed a mental competency evaluation, Gleason was pronounced dead at 9:08 p.m. at the Greensville Correctional Center.
Gleason was serving life in prison without parole when he killed his cellmate in 2009.
When the system wasn't moving fast enough, he strangled another inmate in 2010 and warned that the body count would rise if they didn't heed his warnings.
“Why prolong it? The end result’s gonna be the same,” Gleason said from death row in his thick Boston accent in one of numerous interviews he’s given to The AP over three years. “The death part don’t bother me. This has been a long time coming. It’s called karma.”
The unusual choice followed a series of other shocking moves.
Deputies had to use a stun gun on him during a violent outburst in court in 2008 before he pleaded guilty to a shooting death that sent him to prison for life. Despite there being little evidence against him, Gleason admitted to shooting Mike Jamerson, whose son was cooperating in a federal investigation into a methamphetamine ring that Gleason was involved in.
A year later, he got so frustrated when prison officials wouldn't move his new, mentally disturbed cellmate, 63-year-old Harvey Watson Jr., that Gleason hogtied, beat and strangled the older man. Gleason remained in the cell with Watson's lifeless body for more than 15 hours before officers discovered the crime.
“Someone needs to stop it. The only way to stop me is put me on death row,” he told The AP at the time, repeating his threats in court on numerous occasions.
While awaiting sentencing at a highly secure prison in the mountains that is reserved for the state's worst inmates, Gleason strangled 26-year-old Aaron Cooper through the wire fencing that separated their individual cages on the recreation yard.
Gleason claims he’s killed others — perhaps dozens more — but he has refused to provide details. He claims he's different from the other men on Virginia's death row for one important reason: He only kills criminals.
The 42-year-old inmate is the country’s first execution of 2013, and the first to die by electrocution in Virginia since 2010.
He vowed he would strike again if he wasn’t put to death.
Despite pleas from his former court-appointed attorneys, who believed he needed a mental competency evaluation, Gleason was pronounced dead at 9:08 p.m. at the Greensville Correctional Center.
In Virginia and nine other states, inmates can choose between electrocution and lethal injection.
Gleason had fought last-minute attempts by former attorneys to stop the execution. He told The Associated Press he deserved to die for what he did.Gleason was serving life in prison without parole when he killed his cellmate in 2009.
When the system wasn't moving fast enough, he strangled another inmate in 2010 and warned that the body count would rise if they didn't heed his warnings.
“Why prolong it? The end result’s gonna be the same,” Gleason said from death row in his thick Boston accent in one of numerous interviews he’s given to The AP over three years. “The death part don’t bother me. This has been a long time coming. It’s called karma.”
The unusual choice followed a series of other shocking moves.
Deputies had to use a stun gun on him during a violent outburst in court in 2008 before he pleaded guilty to a shooting death that sent him to prison for life. Despite there being little evidence against him, Gleason admitted to shooting Mike Jamerson, whose son was cooperating in a federal investigation into a methamphetamine ring that Gleason was involved in.
A year later, he got so frustrated when prison officials wouldn't move his new, mentally disturbed cellmate, 63-year-old Harvey Watson Jr., that Gleason hogtied, beat and strangled the older man. Gleason remained in the cell with Watson's lifeless body for more than 15 hours before officers discovered the crime.
“Someone needs to stop it. The only way to stop me is put me on death row,” he told The AP at the time, repeating his threats in court on numerous occasions.
While awaiting sentencing at a highly secure prison in the mountains that is reserved for the state's worst inmates, Gleason strangled 26-year-old Aaron Cooper through the wire fencing that separated their individual cages on the recreation yard.
Gleason claims he’s killed others — perhaps dozens more — but he has refused to provide details. He claims he's different from the other men on Virginia's death row for one important reason: He only kills criminals.
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