Oklahoma's Pardon and Parole Board is denying clemency for a death row inmate convicted of raping and killing a 7-year-old girl in 1984. Monday's 5-0 decision paves the way for 66-year-old Richard Rojem to be executed by lethal injection on June 27. Rojem was convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing his former stepdaughter, Layla Cummings.
This Feb. 11, 2023 photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows Richard Rojem, a death row inmate housed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 5-0 on Monday, June 17, 2024, to deny a clemency recommendation for Rojem, paving the way for his lethal injection execution on June 27 for killing a 7-year-old girl in 1984.
Prosecutors say there is plenty of evidence other than DNA that was used to convict Rojem, including a fingerprint that was discovered outside the girl’s apartment on a cup from a bar Rojem left just before the girl was kidnapped. A condom wrapper found near the girl’s body also was linked to a used condom found in Rojem’s bedroom, prosecutors said.
“I wasn’t a good human being for the first part of my life, and I don’t deny that,” said Rojem, handcuffed and wearing a red prison uniform. “But I went to prison. I learned my lesson and I left all that behind.”
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