Richard Rojem, 66, was the longest-serving inmate on Oklahoma’s death row since he was sentenced to death in 1984 for the kidnapping, rape and murder of his former stepdaughter Layla Cummings, 7.
A death row inmate convicted of the brutal kidnapping, rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl spoke powerful final words before his execution on Thursday.
Richard Rojem, 66, died from a lethal triple-drug cocktail at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Authorities pronounced him dead at 10:16 a.m.
Rojem has been behind bars since 1985, making him the longest-serving prisoner on Oklahoma’s death row. When asked for his final words while strapped down and hooked up to an IV, Rojem replied curtly, “I said goodbye.”
His eyes darted briefly to the witnesses gathered in the next room as the sedative midazolam began to take effect. At 10:08 a.m. he was declared unconscious, and two minutes later he stopped breathing. A spiritual adviser was present in those final moments, the Mirror reports.
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READ MORE: Death row inmate Richard Rojem, who raped and murdered a seven-year-old girl, was executed in Oklahoma.
Despite his protestations of innocence, Rojem was convicted of the brutal murder of his former stepdaughter, Layla Cummings. Her body, which bore signs of mutilation and was only partially clothed, was found with numerous stab wounds in a field in Washita County near Burns Flat on July 7, 1984.
Previous convictions for the rape of two teenagers in Michigan tarnished Rojem’s criminal record, and prosecutors claimed his animosity toward Layla stemmed from her allegations of sexual abuse against him, which led to his divorce and another prison sentence for violating probation.
Rojem’s legal team argued during a pardon hearing this month that DNA evidence found under the girl’s fingernails did not link him to the crime. “If my client’s DNA is not there, he should not be convicted,” attorney Jack Fisher said.
In a statement read by Attorney General Gentner Drummond after the execution, Layla’s mother, Mindy Lynn Cummings, said, “We remember her, honor her, and carry her in our hearts forever as the sweet and precious seven-year-old she was.”
“Today marks the final chapter of justice served by three different juries for the heinous acts of Richard Rojem nearly 40 years ago when he kidnapped her like the monster he was.”
Rojem, who testified at the hearing via video link from prison, denied responsibility for the girl’s death. The panel voted unanimously, 5-0, against recommending that the governor spare Rojem’s life.
“I was not a good person in the first half of my life, I don’t deny that,” Rojem admitted, handcuffed and wearing a red prison uniform. “But I went to prison. I learned my lesson and put it all behind me.”
Prosecutors presented a wealth of evidence against Rojem, including a fingerprint found on a cup outside the girl’s apartment that was traced to a bar Rojem had visited shortly before the kidnapping. In addition, a condom wrapper found near the victim’s body was linked to a used condom found in Rojem’s bedroom.
In 1985, a jury in Washita County took just 45 minutes to convict Rojem. However, his first death sentences were overturned twice by appeals courts due to errors during the trial. It was not until 2007 that a jury in Custer County finally handed down his third death sentence against him.
Oklahoma, which has had the highest per capita execution rate in the country since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, has carried out a total of 13 executions since reinstating lethal injection in October 2021. There was previously a nearly six-year pause due to problems with previous executions in 2014 and 2015.
