Suspected serial killer has six-word message for Trump moments before execution
WARNING DISTRERSSING CONTENT: Glen Rogers, 62, became the fifth inmate put to death in Florida this year and he had a very unusual message for Donald Trump moments before his death
A suspected serial killer used his last breath to share a cryptic message to Donald Trump before his execution.
On Thursday, May 15 Glen Rogers, 62, received a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke and was pronounced dead at 6:16pm local time, authorities said. He was convicted in Florida of the 1995 murder of Tina Marie Cribbs, a 34-year-old mother of two he had met at a bar and was once scrutinized for a possible link to the O.J. Simpson case.
But he also had drawn a separate death sentence in California for the 1995 strangulation killing of mother-of-three Sandra Gallagher, which came weeks before Tina's murder.
In a final statement, Rogers thanked his wife, who visited him earlier in the day at the prison, according to visitor logs. He also somewhat cryptically said that 'in the near future, your questions will be answered' without going into detail. He also said, 'President Trump, keep making America great. I'm ready to go.'
The entire execution took 16 minutes. Once it began, Rogers hardly moved, only lying still with his mouth slightly open. At one point, a staff member grasped him by the shoulders, shook him and yelled, 'Rogers, Rogers' to see if he was conscious. No family members of the Florida victim spoke to the press afterwards.
Rogers was named as a suspect but never convicted in several other killings around the country, once telling police he had killed about 70 people. He later recanted that statement, but had been the subject of documentaries, including one from 2012 called 'My Brother the Serial Killer' that featured his brother Clay and a criminal profiler who had corresponded extensively with Rogers.
The documentary raised questions about whether Rogers could have been responsible for the 1994 stabbing deaths of Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Los Angeles police and prosecutors subsequently said after the documentary's release that they didn't think Rogers had any involvement in the Simpson and Goldman killings.
Rogers, originally from Hamilton, Ohio, had also been labeled the 'Casanova Killer' or 'Cross Country Killer' in various media reports. Some of his alleged and proven female victims had similar characteristics: ages in their 30s, a petite frame and red hair.
The U.S. Supreme Court had denied Rogers' final appeals on Wednesday without comment.
Rogers' lawyers have filed several unsuccessful appeals with state and federal courts. One argument was that newly enacted state legislation authorizing the death penalty for trafficking in young children makes clear that the abuse he suffered as a child is now taken seriously and should result in a life prison sentence for Rogers. That argument was rejected.
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