Va inmate gets wish: Death penalty for 2 slayings

WISE, Va. – A Virginia inmate who pleaded guilty to killing an inmate after threatening to kill again if he didn't get the death penalty for slaying another prisoner has gotten his wish.

The Bristol Herald Courier (http://bit.ly/nPCJ91 ) reports that Robert Gleason received not one, but two death sentences Tuesday during a hearing in Wise County Circuit Court. One sentence was for killing inmate Harvey Watson Jr. in 2009. The other was for killing inmate Aaron Cooper in July 2010.

Gleason had pleaded guilty previously to both slayings. He said in court and in an interview with The Associated Press last year that he would kill again if he wasn't given the death penalty for Watson's slaying.

Upon hearing the sentence Tuesday, Gleason grinned and jokingly wondered if he'd be executed twice.

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Information from: Bristol Herald Courier, http://www.bristolnews.com