It seems odd that a man who made his living as a tattoo artist wanted to avoid the needle, but Gleason claimed he didn't want to take his execution lying down--literally. He wanted to die sitting up. He also thought the electric chair would be faster and less likely to result in a botched execution.
Gleason never fought his death sentence. In fact, he did everything he could to speed up the process. He was originally sentenced for a single murder, then killed two more men while behind bars in order to hasten his own demise.
Gleason did order a special last meal--in Virginia, inmates are given a choice of items from the prison's standard menu--but he also chose to keep that last meal a secret, which Virginia also allows.
