Every inmate put to death in the US is afforded the opportunity to say last words. Some apologize, some express anger or words of love for family. Glen Rogers had a message for President Trump.
‘Casanova Killer’ set to be executed in Florida
Florida plans to execute Glen Rogers, who was sentenced to die for the 1995 murder of Tina Marie Cribbs. Her body was found in a Tampa motel room in November 1995.
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A serial killer used his last words on Earth to shout-out President Donald Trump on Thursday.
“President Trump, keep making America great. I’m ready to go,” Glen Rogers said as he lay strapped to an execution gurney seconds before three drugs coursed through his veins and ended his life at the Florida State Prison in Raiford.
His last words were reported by the Tampa Bay Times and the Associated Press, with reporters representing both outlets as witnesses to the execution.
In addition to his support for Trump, Rogers expressed his love for his family. He also addressed the victims of his crimes.
“I know there’s a lot of questions that you need answers to,” he said. “I promise you in the near future the questions will be answered and I hope in someway will bring you closure.”
Here’s what you need to know about Rogers and his victims, and what Trump has said about the death penalty.
Why was Rogers executed?
Glen Edward Rogers, 62, was executed Thursday by lethal injection for the murder of Tina Marie Cribbs, one of four single mothers in their 30s with reddish hair who fell victim to the so-called “Casanova Killer.” Rogers was known both as the “Casanova Killer” for his good looks and ability to charm his future victims, and as the “Cross Country Killer” because the victims all lived in different states: California, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida.
“He’s an animal,” one of his victim’s sisters said in court before Rogers was sentenced to death, according to an archived report from the Associated Press. “He’s about the evilest thing I think I’ve ever imagined.”
Soon after his arrest, Rogers claimed to have killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles in June 1994, and about 70 people overall. There was no evidence to back that up.
Rogers − a native of Hamilton, Ohio − was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m., becoming the 16th inmate executed in the U.S. this year and the fifth in Florida. Another three men are set to be executed in the U.S. next week, in Texas, Indiana and Tennessee.
Who were the Casanova Killer’s victims?
Authorities connected five victims to the Casanova Killer. Four of them were mothers with reddish hair in their 30s. Three of the murders happened within a six-day period.
- Mark Peters, a 72-year-old retired electrician in Hamilton, Ohio, with whom Rogers lived with briefly, was found dead in a shack owned by Rogers’ family in January 1994 in Beattyville, Kentucky.
- Sandra Gallagher, a 33-year-old mother of three, of Santa Monica, California, killed on Sept. 28, 1995 in Van Nuys. Her body was found in her burning vehicle. She had met Rogers in a bar the night of her murder.
- Linda Price, a 34-year-old mother of two, found stabbed to death in the bathtub of her home in Jackson, Mississippi, on Nov. 3, 1995. Price briefly lived with Rogers, telling her mother: “He is my dream man,” according to an archived story in the Dayton Daily News.
- Tina Marie Cribbs, a 34-year-old mother of two, found stabbed to death in a Tampa, Florida hotel bathtub on Nov. 7, 1995. Like Gallagher, she had met Rogers at a bar on the night of her murder.
- Andy Lou Jiles Sutton, a 37-year-old mother of four: three sons and a daughter who were 19, 17, 8, and 6 when she was found stabbed to death in her bed on Nov. 9, 1995 in of Bossier City, Louisiana. Sutton and Rogers met before her murder and are believed to have slept together.
What has Trump said about executions?
Trump is a staunch supporter of the death penalty and has called for the ultimate punishment to be carried out expeditiously for murderers languishing on death row for decades.
He has also said the punishment should be used for migrants who kill Americans, people who kill police officers, and drug dealers and human traffickers.
Earlier this year, Trump issued an executive order restoring federal executions.
“Before, during, and after the founding of the United States, our cities, States, and country have continuously relied upon capital punishment as the ultimate deterrent and only proper punishment for the vilest crimes,” his order said. “Our Founders knew well that only capital punishment can bring justice and restore order in response to such evil.”
Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter with USA TODAY.