{"id":728,"date":"2024-06-27T02:26:52","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T02:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/?p=728"},"modified":"2024-06-27T02:26:52","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T02:26:52","slug":"oklahoma-man-to-be-executed-for-the-rape-and-murder-of-his-7-year-old-former-stepdaughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/?p=728","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma man to be executed for the rape and murder of his 7-year-old former stepdaughter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">An Oklahoma man set to be\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/05\/30\/death-penalty-united-states-most-executions\/73507428007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|${u}\">executed by lethal injection<\/a>\u00a0on Thursday for the rape and murder of his 7-year-old former stepdaughter maintains his innocence but has accepted his fate after running out of appeals, his attorney tells USA TODAY.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Richard Rojem Jr., 66, was found guilty of raping and stabbing\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/06\/26\/layla-cummings-richard-rojem-execution\/74173317007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|${u}\">Layla Cummings<\/a>\u00a0to death in July 1984. The little girl&#8217;s brutalized body was left in a field.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">If it proceeds, Rojem&#8217;s execution will be the second in Oklahoma this year and\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/05\/30\/death-penalty-united-states-most-executions\/73507428007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|${u}\">the ninth in the U.S<\/a>. It also comes just one day after\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/06\/26\/ramiro-gonzales-execution-texas-execution-bridget-townsend\/74207725007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|${u}\">the execution of a man in neighboring Texas<\/a>, scheduled for 6 p.m. CT Wednesday.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-usatoday-native-article_link-news-national-2\" class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;There&#8217;s nothing else really we can do,&#8221; Jack Fisher, Rojem&#8217;s attorney, told USA TODAY, about his client&#8217;s exhausted appeals. &#8220;He&#8217;s ready to just go on.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Rojem, who has been on death row for four decades, previously had two successful appeals and even avoided execution after it had been set for Oct. 5, 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">As his execution approaches, USA TODAY is looking back at the crime, what led Rojem down a path that ended with Layla&#8217;s murder and what the little girl&#8217;s mother says now that the execution is moving forward.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img gnt_em_img__inset\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736\" title=\"74171841007-thumbnail-img-4870\" src=\"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/74171841007-thumbnail-img-4870.jpg\" alt=\"74171841007-thumbnail-img-4870\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/74171841007-thumbnail-img-4870.jpg 300w, http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/74171841007-thumbnail-img-4870-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"Richard Rojem on Oct. 2, 2003. He was convicted in 1985 of murdering, raping and kidnapping 7-year-old Layla Cummings.\" data-c-credit=\"Courtesy Of The Oklahoma Department Of Corrections\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_mt gnt_ar_b_mt__vi\">What happened to Layla Cummings?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Layla was abducted from an apartment in Elk City, Oklahoma, where she lived with her mother and 9-year-old brother on July 6, 1984, Oklahoma state court documents say. The children&#8217;s mother and Rojem&#8217;s ex-wife, Mindy Cummings, had left them alone to work a late shift at a local fast-food restaurant.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"gnt_atomsnc\" class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_anc\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadAnc\" aria-label=\"Newsletter signup form\">\n<div class=\"label\" hidden=\"\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"message\">\n<div class=\"title\">Get the\u00a0<span class=\"highlight\">Daily Briefing<\/span>\u00a0newsletter in your inbox.<\/div>\n<p class=\"description\">The day&#8217;s top stories, from sports to movies to politics to world events.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div id=\"bar\">\n<div class=\"progress-secondary\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The next morning a farmer found Layla&#8217;s body in a field about 15 miles from her home in Burns Flat. She still had on her mother&#8217;s nightgown.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">A medical examiner testified at trial that Layla died from two large stab wounds in her neck area, was stabbed in her vaginal region, and suffered other injuries that indicated rape, according to the appellate documents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Before the murder, Rojem had been divorced from Layla&#8217;s mother for two months, court records say. He met Mindy Cummings when he was imprisoned in Michigan for sex offenses; she was the sister of his cellmate, court documents say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The then-26-year-old Rojem knew Cummings&#8217; work schedule and that the lock to her apartment door was broken, according to the court filings.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img gnt_em_img__inset\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-737\" title=\"74127303007-layla-cummings\" src=\"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/74127303007-layla-cummings.png\" alt=\"74127303007-layla-cummings\" width=\"300\" height=\"457\" srcset=\"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/74127303007-layla-cummings.png 300w, http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/74127303007-layla-cummings-197x300.png 197w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"Layla Cummings\" data-c-credit=\"Provided\/Oklahoma Attorney General's Office\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_mt gnt_ar_b_mt__vi\">How did detectives place Richard Rojem at the scene of the Layla Cummings&#8217; murder?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Investigators placed Rojem at the scene by finding a beer cup with his fingerprint on it within 25 feet of the Cummings&#8217; apartment on the morning of July 7, the appeals documents say. Rojem had been at a local bar on the evening of July 6 and didn&#8217;t leave the business until 11:50 p.m., according to the court records.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Rojem called his job around 1:14 a.m. and told the dispatcher to log the time of his call as 12:35 a.m., the court records show. Later Friday morning, Rojem &#8220;requested that the entry be changed to the correct time,&#8221; the documents say.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-usatoday-native-article_link-news-national-5\" class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al gnt_x__prmt\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\" data-x-c=\"4\" data-google-query-id=\"CLn1iq7a-oYDFQSG7gEd0gYLVA\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/usatoday\/native-article_link\/news\/national_3__container__\" class=\"gnt_x__prmt\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Although the footprints in the soil around Layla&#8217;s body were not distinguishable, police determined tire tracks in the plowed field were compatible with the tires on Rojem&#8217;s vehicle, the appellate documents say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">When authorities searched Rojem&#8217;s bedroom on July 7, they found a used condom in the trash, along with its wrappings, which matched the ones found on the ground near Layla&#8217;s body, according to the appellate documents. The brand of condoms was sold from a dispenser in the men&#8217;s restroom at the bar Rojem visited on the evening of July 6, the documents say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">During Rojem&#8217;s interview with police about his whereabouts, he said he left the bar when it closed, slowly drove to a small supermarket about 25 miles away and arrived at 1:10 a.m. on July 7, the court filings say. He said he then went by his girlfriend&#8217;s home in Dill City, Oklahoma, before he went back to his house, according to court documents.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_cp gnt_em_cp__sp\" aria-label=\"The ultimate punishment\" data-c-cta=\"RECENT DEATH PENALTY NEWS\">\n<div class=\"gnt_em_cp_cw\">\n<div class=\"gnt_em_cp_tw\"><a class=\"gnt_em_cp_cw_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/05\/30\/death-penalty-united-states-most-executions\/73507428007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":embed (content package)|e|k|${u}\">Death penalty in the US: Which states still execute inmates, who has executed the most?<\/a><a class=\"gnt_em_cp_cw_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/06\/25\/ramiro-gonzales-texas-death-row-execution\/74130170007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":embed (content package)|e|k|${u}\">Texas man set for execution turns to God, says he&#8217;s a changed man and &#8216;deeply sorry&#8217;<\/a><a class=\"gnt_em_cp_cw_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/06\/25\/bridget-townsend-ramiro-gonzales-execution-texas\/74176166007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":embed (content package)|e|k|${u}\">Mom of Texas teen murdered in 2001 says killer&#8217;s execution will be &#8216;joyful occasion&#8217;<\/a><a class=\"gnt_em_cp_cw_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/06\/26\/richard-rojem-execution-oklahoma\/74161424007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":embed (content package)|e|k|${u}\">Oklahoma man to be executed for the rape and murder of his 7-year-old former stepdaughter<\/a><a class=\"gnt_em_cp_cw_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/06\/26\/layla-cummings-richard-rojem-execution\/74173317007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":embed (content package)|e|k|${u}\">&#8216;Forever 7&#8217;: Grieving family of murdered Oklahoma girl eager for execution 40 years later<\/a><a class=\"gnt_em_cp_cw_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/05\/28\/near-decade-high-for-executions-us-among-top-5-countries\/73885100007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":embed (content package)|e|k|${u}\">Deadliest year in a decade for executions worldwide; U.S. among top 5 countries<\/a><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-738\" title=\"73897689007-getty-images-477972544\" src=\"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/73897689007-getty-images-477972544.jpg\" alt=\"73897689007-getty-images-477972544\" width=\"258\" height=\"193\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_mt\">&#8216;No one is going to want to turn him loose&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Jack Fisher told USA TODAY that his client&#8217;s case was &#8220;really really difficult&#8221; to defend at trial, despite there being &#8220;indications that he was innocent.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;If they have any evidence to convict, the jury is going to convict,&#8221; the attorney said. &#8220;No one is going to want to turn him loose.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Throughout the various appeals and parole hearings, including his most recent hearing on June 17, the court had the option of &#8220;just letting him stay in prison for the rest of his life,&#8221; according to Fisher.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">But &#8220;you can see the fire in the eyes of the parole board,&#8221; Fisher said about Rojem&#8217;s recent hearing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denied Rojem clemency on June 17. Rojem previously had luck with appeals, as his first and second death sentences were thrown out in 2001 and 2006 due to issues with the jury in both instances, state court records show.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">After jurors agreed to the death penalty for a third time in 2007, Rojem continued to fight until he ran out of appeals in 2017.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-740\" title=\"80ed606f-4b6e-43a5-8765-5453a8cd7ae6-Screen_Shot_2021-10-28_at_10.44.39_AM\" src=\"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/80ed606f-4b6e-43a5-8765-5453a8cd7ae6-Screen_Shot_2021-10-28_at_10.44.39_AM.png\" alt=\"80ed606f-4b6e-43a5-8765-5453a8cd7ae6-Screen_Shot_2021-10-28_at_10.44.39_AM\" width=\"660\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/80ed606f-4b6e-43a5-8765-5453a8cd7ae6-Screen_Shot_2021-10-28_at_10.44.39_AM.png 660w, http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/80ed606f-4b6e-43a5-8765-5453a8cd7ae6-Screen_Shot_2021-10-28_at_10.44.39_AM-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"The execution table is shown in this image from a video released by the Oklahoma Corrections Department.\" data-c-credit=\"PROVIDED BY OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_mt\">How was Richard Rojem&#8217;s upbringing?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Rojem comes from a family with &#8220;generational dysfunction,&#8221; and whose parents and caretakers were alcoholics throughout his childhood, according to mitigating evidence filed in court records in an attempt to explain Rojem&#8217;s history and spare him from the death penalty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Because Rojem was born prematurely with an orthopedic deformity and disability, he had a &#8220;painfully dislocated hip,&#8221; spending the first three years of life in a full body cast, court records say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">When Rojem was 3 years old, his biological father was killed in a bar fight, and he was raised by his 17-year-old mother in a &#8220;chaotic and overcrowded household,&#8221; according to the filings. He lived with 13 people in a 1,500-square-foot, three-bedroom house.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Rojem witnessed domestic abuse between his mother and stepfather and was sexually abused by an older stepbrother, the documents say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Rojem was genetically predisposed to developing psychological disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other personality disorders, the court records show.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-739\" title=\"74171817007-thumbnail-img-4869\" src=\"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/74171817007-thumbnail-img-4869.jpg\" alt=\"74171817007-thumbnail-img-4869\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/74171817007-thumbnail-img-4869.jpg 360w, http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/74171817007-thumbnail-img-4869-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/74171817007-thumbnail-img-4869-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"Richard Rojem on Feb. 11, 2023. He was convicted in 1985 of murdering, raping and kidnapping 7-year-old Layla Cummings.\" data-c-credit=\"Courtesy Of The Oklahoma Department Of Corrections\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_mt\">Who is Richard Rojem now?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">After serving decades behind bars, Fisher&#8217;s clemency brief says Rojem is a &#8220;Zen Buddhist and is highly respected by his Zen Buddhist friends.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;He should not be executed for this horrific crime he did not commit,&#8221; the attorney wrote. &#8220;He will not be a threat to anyone.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Rojem continues to maintain his innocence, saying at the recent clemency hearing, &#8220;I did not murder Layla.&#8221; He did acknowledge his past sexual assault conviction, which led to him serving four years in a Michigan prison for the rape of two teenage girls,\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/oklahoma.gov\/oag\/news\/newsroom\/2024\/june\/drummond-requests-rejection-of-clemency-for-richard-rojem-jr.html\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|${u}\">Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a June 10 news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThe family of Layla Cummings has waited 40 years for justice to be done,&#8221; Drummond said. &#8220;Her killer is a real-life monster who deserves the same absence of mercy he showed to the child he savagely murdered.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Layla&#8217;s mother and Rojem&#8217;s ex-wife, Mindy Cummings, told the parole board that &#8220;40 years is a very long time to see the fulfillment of justice that his horrific crime deserves.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">She continued: &#8220;It\u2019s a long time to be concerned about our safety as long as this monster&#8217;s alive &#8230; Death row does not protect us from Rojem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">A handcuffed Rojem said during the hearing: &#8220;I wasn\u2019t a good human being for the first part of my life, and I don\u2019t deny that &#8230; But I went to prison. I learned my lesson and I left all that behind.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Oklahoma man set to be\u00a0executed by lethal injection\u00a0on Thursday for the rape and murder of his 7-year-old former stepdaughter maintains his innocence but has accepted his fate after running&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[260,257],"tags":[324,322,323],"views":169,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=728"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":742,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728\/revisions\/742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}