The first documented case since 1976 was of Gary Gilmore in 1977 who "withdrew his rights of appeal from Utah’s legal system and requested that the courts enforce his death sentence as soon as possible".
[1] A notable, recurring pathology of criminal requesting execution is serial killers, including Westley Allan Dodd and Michael Bruce Ross.
In 1996, Robert South decided to waive his right to appeal due to a benign tumor which "significantly disrupted his sleep cycle, made him extremely sensitive to noise, and caused frequent and severe headaches".
[4] In 2013, Robert Gleason was executed after killing two inmates in prison while serving a life sentence for a murder committed in 2007.
In 2016, Scott Dozier voluntarily waived his appeals and wrote a letter to District Judge Jennifer Togliatti asking her to expedite his execution.