Virginia executes man who killed 2 inmates

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JARRATT, Va., Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A convicted killer who continued to kill in prison to get the death penalty was put to death by electrocution Wednesday night in Virginia.

Robert Charles Gleason, 42, got his wish at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt after strangling inmates at two Virginia prisons, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. Harvey Gray Watson Jr., 63, was Gleason's cellmate at Wallens Ridge State Prison when he was killed in 2009, while Aaron Alexander Cooper, 26, was killed at Red Onion State Prison in 2010.

Gleason gave a rambling last statement with no apology for his crimes, the newspaper said.

"Put me on the highway going to Jackson and call my Irish buddies," Gleason said. "God bless."

Gleason had been sentenced to life for a 2007 murder when he beat Watson, stuffed a stock into his mouth and strangled him. Cooper was also strangled with Gleason at one point giving him a break to get his breath back before finally killing him.

Virginia gives inmates facing execution a choice between lethal injection and the electric chair.

Gleason was the first inmate executed in Virginia in more than a year, The Washington Post reported.