An Oklahoma man, who had been on death row for over four decades following his conviction for the kidnap, rape, and murder of a 7-year-old girl, was executed on Thursday.
Richard Rojem Jr. was administered a lethal injection of three drugs at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, marking the end of his life at 10:16 a.m., as confirmed by prison officials. Rojem, who held the record for the longest-serving inmate on Oklahoma's death row, was quoted in his final moments saying, "Ive said my goodbyes," declining to utter any other last words.
According to American Military News, Rojem was found guilty in 1985 for the rape and fatal stabbing of his former stepdaughter, Layla Dawn Cummings. The young girl was kidnapped from her Elk City apartment on July 6, 1984, while her mother, Mindy Cummings, was working a late shift at a local fast food restaurant. Layla's partially clothed and brutally assaulted body was discovered the following day in a field near Burns Flat, a western Oklahoma town approximately 15 miles from her residence.
The gruesome incident occurred just two months after Cummings finalized her divorce from Rojem, who had prior convictions for raping two teenage girls in Michigan. Prosecutors argued that Rojem's anger towards Layla, who had reported him for sexual abuse, led to his divorce from her mother and subsequent return to prison for parole violation. In a recent statement to the parole board, Cummings expressed her enduring pain, stating, "For many years, the shock of losing her and the knowledge of the sheer terror, pain and suffering that she endured at the hands of this soulless monster was more than I could fathom how to survive day to day."
Despite the charges and his execution, Rojem consistently denied murdering Layla. During a video link session with the state's Pardon and Parole Board from prison, he admitted, "I wasnt a good human being for the first part of my life, and I dont deny that. But I went to prison. I learned my lesson and I left all that behind." His plea for clemency was rejected earlier this month, paving the way for his execution.
Rojem's execution marks the second in the nation within a span of two days. Ramiro Gonzales, a Texas man who confessed to the kidnap, sexual assault, and fatal shooting of an 18-year-old woman in 2001, was executed on Wednesday evening.
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