Robert Charles Gleason Jr. (April 10, 1970 – January 16, 2013) was an American

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

who was sentenced to death and executed in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

for two separate murders of two of his cellmates. Gleason, who was already serving a life sentence for another murder, was an execution volunteer who vowed to continue killing in prison if he was not put to death. Capital punishment was abolished in Virginia on March 24, 2021, officially making Gleason the last person to be executed in Virginia by

electrocution Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...

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 Amherst County is a county, located in the Piedmont region and near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, and its county seat is also named Amhers ...

. Gleason murdered Jamerson to cover up his involvement in a drug gang. In 2009, while serving a life sentence at

Wallens Ridge State Prison Wallens Ridge State Prison is a level 5 state prison located in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, housing approximately 1,200 inmates. Since opening in April 1999, it has been a part of the Virginia Department of Corrections, and is identical to the Red ...

, Gleason had become frustrated with the

Department of Corrections In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and su ...

because they refused to move out his new, severely mentally ill cellmate, Harvey Gray Watson (September 11, 1945 – May 8, 2009). Watson had been serving a 100-year sentence for a shooting spree on August 11, 1983, which resulted in one death and three injuries. He had also been previously acquitted of shooting and killing an intruder at his store in 1974. Gleason hog-tied, beat and strangled 63-year-old Watson, on the second anniversary of Jamerson's death. Gleason pleaded guilty. In court and media interviews, Gleason vowed to continue killing if not given a death sentence. Gleason also claimed to have killed other people before his incarceration for Jamerson's murder. He said he was paid to kill some of the alleged victims, while he killed others for angering him. 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 The electric chair is a specialized device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The condemned is strapped to a custom wooden chair and electrocuted via electrodes attached to the head and leg. Alfred P. Southwick, a Buffalo, New Yo ...

over

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...

Execution

Gleason was executed by

Greensville Correctional Center Greensville Correctional Center is a prison facility located in unincorporated Greensville County, Virginia, near Jarratt. The prison, on a plot of land, is operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections. "901 Corrections Way Jarratt, VA ...

Jarratt, Virginia Jarratt is a town in Greensville and Sussex counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 652 at the 2020 census. In 1848, Jarratt was a stop on the Petersburg Railroad. Jaratt was incorporated in 1938. Geography Jarratt is locat ...

, on January 16, 2013, at 9:08p.m. He was the first person executed in the United States in 2013. He had a last meal that he wanted kept secret. 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." His execution was the first to be carried out by electric chair since the March 2010 execution of

Paul Warner Powell Paul Warner Powell (April 13, 1978 – March 18, 2010) was an American white supremacist who was executed for the murder of his friend Stacie Reed, 16, in 1999 after learning that she had a black boyfriend. He also raped, strangled, and stabbed th ...

, also in Virginia. Gleason stands as the last 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 Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and the most recent person executed by electrocution in a jurisdiction other than the state of

Capital punishment debate

In 2021, Gleason's case was referred to when a

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

was brought forth to end

capital punishment in Virginia Capital punishment was abolished in Virginia on March 24, 2021, when Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill into law. The law took effect on July 1, 2021. Virginia is the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, and the first southern state in Uni ...

. 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 people like Gleason. On March 24, 2021, capital punishment was abolished in Virginia, officially making Gleason the last person to be executed in Virginia by electrocution.

References

! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in Virginia , - ! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in the United States {{DEFAULTSORT:Gleason, Robert 1970 births 2013 deaths 21st-century American murderers 21st-century executions by Virginia Executed American serial killers People convicted of murder by Virginia People executed by Virginia by electric chair People from Lowell, Massachusetts Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Virginia Serial killers from Virginia

Crimes and sentencing

Execution

Capital punishment debate

See also

References