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AP/Yahoo!: Va. killer shows bits of humanity before execution
Va. killer shows bits of humanity before executionJARRATT, Va. (AP) — He gave a nod and a wink before he sat down in the electric chair, then he uttered two statements as contradictory as the man himself: a Gaelic expletive and "God bless."
Robert Gleason Jr. was playful and vicious, a protector and a predator. He was likeable and reprehensible. He sent Christmas cards and made me laugh on a bad day.
He was also a killer. And on Wednesday night I watched him die.
I couldn't help but smile as Gleason strung together his last words, a mix of movie and song references that baffled the men in dark suits that lined the death chamber and the citizens and reporters with me listening intently from our green and white plastic chairs. He and I had talked several times over the past three years about what he'd say when he got there. It changed a few times. It got much shorter as the day drew closer, as he feared he'd trip over his own meticulously chosen words.
In the end, he settled on lines from the Johnny Cash version of "Jackson," which reminded him of the woman he regretted losing, and "Take it to the Limit" by the Eagles because it represented the final motorcycle ride he never got to take. I knew the expletive was coming — he'd repeated it often in his thick Boston accent. I must say I was surprised by the "God bless," though.
Robert Gleason Jr. was playful and vicious, a protector and a predator. He was likeable and reprehensible. He sent Christmas cards and made me laugh on a bad day.
He was also a killer. And on Wednesday night I watched him die.
I couldn't help but smile as Gleason strung together his last words, a mix of movie and song references that baffled the men in dark suits that lined the death chamber and the citizens and reporters with me listening intently from our green and white plastic chairs. He and I had talked several times over the past three years about what he'd say when he got there. It changed a few times. It got much shorter as the day drew closer, as he feared he'd trip over his own meticulously chosen words.
In the end, he settled on lines from the Johnny Cash version of "Jackson," which reminded him of the woman he regretted losing, and "Take it to the Limit" by the Eagles because it represented the final motorcycle ride he never got to take. I knew the expletive was coming — he'd repeated it often in his thick Boston accent. I must say I was surprised by the "God bless," though.
More at: http://news.yahoo.com/va-killer-shows-bits-humanity-execution-151056427.html
9 replies
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I'm ashamed of our country, of the hypocrisy.
