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Robert Alton Harris (January 15, 1953 - April 21, 1992) was an American career criminal and murderer who was executed in San Quentin's gas chamber in 1992. This marked the first execution in the state of California since 1967. Harris had killed two teenage boys in 1978. Harris' execution is specifically remembered for his peculiar choice of final words (recorded by Warden Daniel Vasquez): "You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with the grim reaper." This was a reference to the film Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey , released in 1991. Harris was born when his abusive, Army sergeant father came home and began kicking his mother while she was bathing his sister, claiming she was pregnant by someone else, sending her into premature labor.
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