US carries out first electrocution since 2010
18 Jan 2013 6:50 AM IST
An American who murdered two fellow inmates while serving a life sentence was put to death by electric chair, a first such execution since 2010, authorities said.
Robert Gleason, a 42-year-old former tatoo artist, was declared dead at 9:08 pm local time, said Larry Traylor, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections in the state of Virginia.
Gleason was serving a life sentence for a 2007 murder when he strangled a 63-year-old prisoner in 2009 and another, aged 26, while he awaited sentencing.
‘Gleason has expressed no remorse for these horrific murders. He has not sought to appeal his convictions and has not filed a petition for clemency,’ Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said in a statement earlier.
He added that he ‘found no compelling reason to intercede.’
In press interviews, Gleason even asked to be executed quickly to keep from killing and, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, told the court at his trial that he wanted the death penalty.
His defense team, however, had sought to save his life, highlighting his traumatic childhood, psychiatric woes, and history of drug and alcohol abuse.
Robert Gleason, a 42-year-old former tatoo artist, was declared dead at 9:08 pm local time, said Larry Traylor, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections in the state of Virginia.
Gleason was serving a life sentence for a 2007 murder when he strangled a 63-year-old prisoner in 2009 and another, aged 26, while he awaited sentencing.
‘Gleason has expressed no remorse for these horrific murders. He has not sought to appeal his convictions and has not filed a petition for clemency,’ Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said in a statement earlier.
He added that he ‘found no compelling reason to intercede.’
In press interviews, Gleason even asked to be executed quickly to keep from killing and, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, told the court at his trial that he wanted the death penalty.
His defense team, however, had sought to save his life, highlighting his traumatic childhood, psychiatric woes, and history of drug and alcohol abuse.
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