A man tired of sitting on death row decided to take matters in his own hands — literally — and strangle two men to death so he’d be executed sooner.

Robert Gleason, Jr. was executed via electric chair at 9:08 PM on Wednesday in Virginia.

The 42-year-old Gleason used his final moment to tell witnesses to his execution “kiss my ass.”
Gleason said he wanted to be put to death despite the fact that his court-appointed lawyers had previously attempted to halt the execution by having him undergo mental competency tests.

His attorneys argued that his extensive time in solitary confinement prevented him from making rational decisions.

Gleason was the first person executed in 2013 in the United States, and was the first to choose to die via the electric chair since 2010.

Virginia is one of ten states that allows inmates to choose between electrocution and lethal injection.

Gleason was serving life in prison without parole for a 2007 murder when he admitted to using strips from bed sheets to bind and strangle Harvey Watson, a 63-year-old inmate at Virginia’s Wallens Ridge State Prison in May 2009.

Court documents show that Gleason told authorities that he timed the murder to coincide with the second anniversary of the one he committed in 2007.

Gleason attacked another inmate in July 2010 at the maximum-security Red Onion State Prison while he waited to be sentenced for killing Watson, according to court records.

Gleason said he asked fellow inmate Aaron A. Cooper, 26, to try on a “religious necklace,” which Gleason used to strangle him to death.

Gleason testified that he choked Cooper “till he turned purple,” waited for his skin color to return to normal, then choked him to death.

Gleason indicated that he intended on continuing to kill until he received the death penalty.

“Why prolong it? The end result’s gonna be the same,” Gleason said during one of numerous interviews he gave to The Associated Press over three years.

“The death part don’t bother me. This has been a long time coming. It’s called karma.”

Gleason claimed he’s killed others — possibly dozens more — but refused to provide details. He claimed he’s different than others on death row, as he only killed criminals.

“I ain’t saying I’m a better person for killing criminals, but I’ve never killed innocent people,” Gleason said. 

“I killed people that’s in the same lifestyle as me, and they know, hey, these things can happen.”

Gleason asked for the death penalty to show his children that his lifestyle can have severe consequences, and that they shouldn’t follow in his footsteps.

Great, so he was a guy with a Dexter Morgan complex who demanded the death penalty to teach his children a lesson.

Stephen Willard | Elite.