Robert Gleason (murderer)

Robert Charles Gleason, Jr. (April 10, 1970 – January 16, 2013) was an American murderer sentenced to death and executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia for two separate murders of two of his cellmates.[1] Gleason was an execution volunteer who vowed to continue killing in prison if he did not receive capital punishment.[2] He is currently the last person executed in Virginia by electrocution.[3]

Robert Gleason
Born
Robert Charles Gleason, Jr.

(1970-04-10)April 10, 1970
Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJanuary 16, 2013(2013-01-16) (aged 42)
Greensville Correctional Center, Jarratt, Virginia, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by electrocution
Criminal penaltyDeath (September 6, 2011)
Details
VictimsMichael Kent Jamerson
Harvey Gray Watson, Jr.
Aaron Alexander Cooper
DateMay 8, 2007 (Jamerson)
May 8, 2009 (Watson)
July 28, 2010 (Cooper)

Crimes and sentencing

In 2008, Gleason was sentenced to life in prison for the 2007 murder of Michael Kent Jamerson (March 13, 1953 – May 8, 2007) in Amherst County, Virginia. Gleason murdered Jamerson to cover up his involvement in a drug gang. In 2009, while serving a life sentence at Wallens Ridge State Prison, Gleason had become frustrated with the Department of Corrections because they refused to move out his new, severely mentally ill cellmate, Harvey Watson (September 11, 1945 – May 8, 2009). Watson had been serving a 100-year sentence over a murder dating back to August 11, 1983. Gleason hog-tied, beat and strangled 63-year-old Watson, on the 2-year anniversary of Jamerson's death. Gleason pleaded guilty. Both in court and in media interviews, Gleason vowed to continue killing if not given the death penalty.[4]

While awaiting sentencing at Red Onion State Prison, a highly secure prison for the state's most dangerous inmates, Gleason strangled 26-year-old Aaron Cooper (September 27, 1983 – July 28, 2010) through wire fencing that separated their individual cages in a prison yard on July 28, 2010. Cooper had been serving a 34-year sentence for robbery. Gleason was subsequently sentenced to death, voluntarily waived his appeals, and received his request. He chose the electric chair over lethal injection.[5]

Execution

Gleason was executed by electric chair at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia, on January 16, 2013, at 9:08 pm. He was the first person executed in the United States in 2013. His last words were purportedly "Well, I hope Percy ain't going to forget to wet the sponge. Put me on the highway to Jackson and call my Irish buddies. Póg mo thóin. God bless." The phrase "Póg mo thóin," is translated from Irish as "Kiss my arse."[6] His execution was the first to be carried out by electric chair since the March 2010 execution of Paul Warner Powell, also in Virginia. Gleason stands as the most recent person to die in the Virginia electric chair, the last person to die in the electric chair in any jurisdiction for almost six years until the November 2018 execution of Edmund Zagorski in Tennessee and the most recent person executed by electrocution in a jurisdiction other than the state of Tennessee.[7][8]

Capital punishment debate

In 2021, Gleason's case was referred to when a bill was brought forth to end capital punishment in Virginia. Supporters of capital punishment referenced Gleason's case as an example of why Virginia should continue the practice, pointing out that Gleason had continued to kill while he was behind bars, and would have continued to do so had he not been executed. Advocates of capital punishment argued that executing Gleason had saved lives, and that death was the appropriate sentence for offenders like Gleason.[9][10]

Ultimately, the bill is yet to be voted on.[11] Should it pass and capital punishment be abolished in Virginia, Gleason would officially be the last person executed in Virginia by electrocution.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Final words of last man executed by electric chair were Irish". IrishCentral.com. April 24, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  2. "Virginia inmate Robert Gleason dies by electric chair". BBC News. January 17, 2013.
  3. Vozzella, Laura (January 23, 2021). "Virginia moves toward banning capital punishment, in a shift for prolific death penalty state". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021.
  4. Jouvenal, Justin (January 16, 2013). "Va. executes convicted killer who sought death penalty". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016.
  5. "Robert Charles Gleason Jr. #1321". www.clarkprosecutor.org. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  6. Owens, Michael L. (January 16, 2013). "Robert Gleason got death the way he wanted it". heraldcourier.com. Bristol, Virginia: Bristol Herald Courier. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  7. "Governor Rejects Jurors' Plea for Clemency for Edmund Zagorski as Tennessee Court Allows Lethal Injections to Proceed | Death Penalty Information Center". deathpenaltyinfo.org. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  8. Ritschel, Chelsea (November 1, 2018). "Tennessee death row inmate requests pickled pig knuckles for final meal before execution by electric chair". The Independent.
  9. Green, Frank (January 28, 2021). "Advocates for keeping death penalty point to the many lives taken by Virginia's killers". The Daily Progress.
  10. Dujardin, Peter (January 31, 2021). "Since 1608, Virginia has executed more people than any other state. It may now abolish the death penalty". The Virginian-Pilot.
  11. "Virginia may be first in south to abolish death penalty and abandon 'legalized lynching'". The Guardian. February 2, 2021.
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