Robert Gleason

Robert Charles Gleason, Jr. (April 10, 1970 - January 16, 2013) was an American murderer who was sentenced to death and executed by the state of Virginia for the two separate murders of two of his cellmates. He is also notable for how he is the most recent person to be executed by the electric chair in the United States (as of September 26, 2017).

In 2009, Gleason was serving a life sentence for the 2007 murder of Michael Kent Jamerson (March 13, 1953 - May 8, 2007). 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 day before the 2-year anniversary of Jamerson's death. Gleason pled guilty. Both in court and in media interviews, Gleason vowed to continue killing if not given the death penalty. While awaiting sentencing at 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 in July 28, 2010. Cooper had been serving a 34 year sentence for robbery. Gleason was subsequently sentenced to death, voluntarily waived his appeals, and got his wish after choosing the electric chair over lethal injection. He was executed by electric chair at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia, on January 16, 2013, at 9:08pm. 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. Pog mo thoin. God bless." The phrase “Pog mo thoin,” is roughly translated from Irish Gaelic as "Kiss my ass." His execution was the first to be carried out by electric chair since the March 2010 execution of Paul Powell (April 13, 1978 - March 18, 2010).