Oklahoma executes Richard Rojem Jr. in ex-stepdaughter's murder: 'Final chapter of justice'
Oklahoma executed death row inmate Richard Rojem Jr. by lethal injection Thursday morning, making him the second death row inmate to be executed in the state this year and the ninth in the country.
Rojem, 66, was pronounced dead at 10:16 a.m., and he did not seek any last-minute stay. Rojem did not have any final words, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office told USA TODAY.
The execution was the second in the U.S. in as many days, following Texas' execution Wednesday evening of Ramiro Gonzales, who was convicted of raping and killing an 18-year-old girl.
Rojem was convicted in 1985 of raping, kidnapping and murdering his former stepdaughter, Layla Dawn Cummings, and leaving the 7-year-old's body in a plowed field, according to Oklahoma appellate court records. Rojem had been divorced from Laya's mother, Mindy Cummings, for two months before the murder, the court documents continued.
Layla's body was found on the morning of July 7, 1984, in a plowed field by a Burns Flat farmer, the appellate court records say. The girl had stab wounds and was dressed in her mother's nightgown when found by the farmer, according to the documents.
Rojem maintained his innocence for decades, including at his recent clemency hearing on June 17.
“I did not kidnap Layla. I did not rape Layla. And I did not murder Layla,” Rojem told the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board during his clemency hearing.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond released the following statement following Rojem's execution:
“Justice for Layla Cummings was finally served this morning with the execution of the monster responsible for her rape and murder. Layla’s family has endured unimaginable suffering for almost 40 years. My prayer is that today’s action brings a sense of comfort to those who loved her.”
'He deserved nothing less than today's final justice'
Laya's mother, Mindy Lynn Cummings, witnessed Rojem's execution, and said in a statement, "Today marks the final chapter of justice."
"Today, as we near the anniversary of Layla-Dawn's horrific death on July 7th, we remember, honor, and hold her forever in our hearts as the sweet and precious 7-year-old she was," Cummings' statement reads.
In the statement, Cummings called Rojem's actions "heinous" and said he stole Layla "away like the monster he was."
"He deserved nothing less than today's final justice for the savage, barbaric, and torturous acts of suffering he inflicted upon Layla-Dawn before then ending her life," according to the statement.
Cummings also said today the family is honoring the memory of Layla's and her older brother's father, Don Cummings, "who is not with us today due to the absolute evil of a monster who purposely tormented him to the brink of despair that ended his life." Don Cummings died by suicide shortly after Rojem's initial trial in 1985, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office's parole packet.
"Despite the tragic loss of their father and the lasting impact of his loss to us and all who loved him, the unimaginable pain and suffering endured by Layla's then surviving 9-year-old brother, and to me - her mother, today is a solemn reminder that justice must prevail for Layla alone," the statement continued. "We are grateful today for justice served and the peace of knowing that Richard Rojem can never hurt us or any other person again."
Richard Rojem's final meal
Rojem ate his final meal on Wednesday at 5:48 p.m., which consisted of a small Little Caeser's pizza, eight salt packets, eight crushed red pepper packets, a bottle of ginger ale, two vanilla ice cream cups and a large styrofoam cup, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC).
"Today’s event and the circumstances that led to it have affected many people – especially the family of Layla Dawn Cummings," ODOC Director Steven Harpe said in a statement sent to USA TODAY. "As an agency, we carried out the court's orders according to our high standards of professionalism and respect for those in our custody, ensuring dignity for everyone involved in the process."
Rev. Master Daishin Yalon, Rojem's spiritual advisor, was also in the execution room, according to an ODOC spokesperson. Yalon is a member of the Shasta Abbey Buddhist Monastery.
Rojem became a Zen Buddhist in prison, according to his attorney, Jack Fisher.
Richard Rojem executed for killing former ex-stepdaughter
In 1984, "sometime between 10:00 p.m. on the evening of July 6, and 1:15 a.m. the morning of July 7," a 26-year-old Rojem abducted Layla from an apartment in Elk City, Oklahoma, where she lived with her 9-year-old brother and mother, according to the appellate court records.
Mindy Cummings had left her two children home alone to work a late shift at a local McDonald's, according to the court filings. Rojem and Cummings met while he was serving time in a Michigan prison for the rape of two teenage girls, the court documents continued. Cummings was the sister of Rojem's cellmate.
Cummings had filed a restraining order against Rojem in March 1984, four months before Layla's murder, according to the AG office's parole packet. At that time, Rojem’s “feelings towards the children were not happy," the packet says.
Rojem knew Cummings' work schedule and that the lock to the family's apartment was not working properly due to conversations he had with family members, the appellate court documents say.
Once Rojem was found guilty in 1985, a judge sentenced him to death for Layla's murder and 1,000 years each for both the rape and kidnapping convictions.
Richard Rojem exhausted appeal attempts, denied clemency
Rojem was successful twice in getting his death sentences thrown out in 2001 and 2006, but a jury agreed to the death penalty again in 2007, the appellate court filing says.
Rojem would exhaust his appeal attempts in 2017, meaning his clemency hearing on June 17 was his final chance to live the rest of his life behind bars.
"I wasn’t a good human being for the first part of my life, and I don’t deny that,” a handcuffed Rojem said during the hearing. “But I went to prison. I learned my lesson and I left all that behind.”
Despite the pleas from Rojem and his attorney, Jack Fisher, the parole board denied him clemency. The decision came in part due to the comments made by Layla's mother, Mindy Cummings, and aunt, Vicky Cummings.
“I have become weary all these years pressing against that prison door trying to keep him in," Vicky Cummings, who appeared via Zoom, said during the hearing. "Having to relive and reiterate this horror − time and time again."
Mindy Cummings did not join the hearing but instead wrote a letter that was shared with the board.
"Everything she might have been was stolen from her one horrific night,” Cummings wrote about her daughter. “She never got to be more than the precious 7-year-old that she was. And so she remains in our hearts − forever 7.”
When is the next scheduled execution?
The next scheduled execution in the U.S. is on July 16 in Texas. Ruben Gutierrez, 47, is the death row inmate set to be executed.
Gutierrez, who at the time of his offenses was a 21-year-old forklift operator, was convicted of murder. He and his two co-defendants, Rene Garcia and Pedro Garza, entered the home of an 85-year-old woman, struck her repeatedly and stabbed her in the head multiple times on Sept. 5, 1988, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Gutierrez and his co-defendants fled the woman's home with a minimum of $56,000, the government department said.
Gutierrez was previously scheduled to be executed on June 16, 2020, but an hour and 10 minutes before the execution, the then 43-year-old was granted a reprieve so a lower court could consider his request for a chaplain to be present in the chamber, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Gutierrez’s legal team filed for a motion of post-conviction DNA testing in 2022, but their attempt was unsuccessful.