RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to stop the execution of a Virginia man who fought to get the death penalty.

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The court ruled hours before the 9 p.m. Wednesday execution of 42-year-old Robert Gleason Jr. Gleason was sentenced to death for strangling two inmates while housed in two of the state's most secure prisons.

After each slaying, Gleason vowed to continue killing unless he was sentenced to death.

Former attorneys had asked the court to block the execution. They argued Gleason was not competent to make the decision to waive his appeals. They asked to be appointed to his case to order a new competency evaluation, even though two others have proved he was capable of making decisions in his case.

Gleason has chosen to die by electrocution