[38][5][9] In 2013, the Brevard County Jail re-introduced chain gangs as a pilot project with the goal of deterring crime. That same day, precipitated by the shootings, over 900 members of the People's Temple Cult led by Reverend Jim Jones died in Jonestown, Guyana of mass murder and suicide. We saw an impressive community with dozens of pathways, cabins, a medical center, a little school, and a large pavilion where the members congregated regularly. He called Layton the ultimate victim of Jim Jones.. But how? Then, as a group of men dug the truck out of the mud, we heard a loud commotion from the pavilion. tradition. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. After he passed legislation improving prison conditions, the inmates showed their gratitude by giving him a chess set they had sculpted from toothpaste and toilet paper. November 18, 1978 In the two years since, Jones and most of his followers had left the Bay Area and moved to Jones commune deep in the jungle of Guyana. A bone shot out of my right arm, and a huge hunk of flesh had been blown off my thigh. [8] Lawton later said that he used a BB gun during the robbery. When people refer to the Jonestown massacre as a mass suicide, I am enraged. How did the Peoples Temple recruit members? UNDAUNTED: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back, write a letter to President Jimmy Carter extolling Joness work, California's road to recovery runs through D.C. Republicans, Why New Jerseys ventilator guidelines may favor younger, whiter patients, Rhode Island ends specific restrictions on New Yorkers by making them national. Ryan traveled to Guyana after winning his fourth congressional term to investigate reports from cult defectors--including Laytons sister, Debra--that the cult was holding members against their will. He founded a free health clinic and a drug rehabilitation program, emerging as a political force. I was 28, lying on a dusty airplane runway in the Guyanese jungle, and dying. Funeral directors say it is not uncommon for family members to never retrieve cremated remains. Last week, though, the ashes of nine victims were found neatly packaged and clearly marked, with the names of the deceased and place of their death included on accompanying death certificates, the Delaware Division of Forensic Science said Thursday. (The night before she'd left for the school, her father had stunned her After a few weeks, Layton grew "accustomed to the unusual smells in the food and drink. [7] Lawton attended Intermediate IS 192 and Lehman High School, but did not graduate. We accompanied Assemblyman Ryan to shopping centers and campaign events to pass out pamphlets and speak with voters. They reported the car's license plate, which linked the car to Lawton. Laytons mother, also a Peoples Temple member, died of cancer in Jonestown two weeks before the massacre. I just By the time I returned, more than 900 people died. [10] He was sentenced for racketeering and robbery and spent 11 years in prison before being released in 2007. Laytons lawyer said that made Layton more susceptible to Jones spell. Jones wove his way through the camp, repeating that he wasnt upset that they wanted to leave; it was just that they were doing it in the wrong way. Her brother, Larry, later became the only person ever charged in connection with the airstrip massacre and, after two trials, was convicted in 1986 of conspiring to murder Ryan. It was coined after a delusional, pseudo-guru named Jim Jones led his cult, the Peoples Temple, to mass suicide. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? [15][18], In 1996, there was a robbery of a jeweler in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. His following grew, and Jones became the leader of one of the first mixed-race churches in Indiana. With the camp surrounded by his armed guards, he told his followers to give the medicinegrape FlavorAid and Kool-Aid laced with cyanide and tranquilizersto the children and the elderly first. I was later told that he had been shot 45 times. was ambushed "They were looking for something larger than themselves to be involved Much later, Layton writes, she would find them "on the bookshelf in Father's house with the many other prescription drugs taken from Temple members.". "You consistently wind up finding yourself trying to heal but having your wounds opened up again when new information is given," she said. When people refer to the Jonestown massacre as a mass suicide, I am enraged. I dont have any money to donate, but Id like to volunteer. [8] In 1983, having earned his GED, he left the Coast Guard and began engaging in criminal activity, mostly loan sharking and bookmaking. But I was one of very few women who held senior staff positions in Congress at the time, and I was concerned that if I gave in to my reluctance and let a male colleague go in my place, Id be setting back women in politics. secret, that her mother had fled Nazi Germany.). Kool-Aid is high in sugar or contains artificial sweetener and has little to no nutritional value. Ive shared my Guyana story countless times, but its still a challenge to go back and relive those days. After that trip, I remember telling myself that never again would I witness such violence at such close range. Misbehaving children were Williams spent a decade with the Peoples Temple, including three months in Jonestown, named after the group's founder, Jim Jones. As I scanned the hundreds of smiling faces, I never could have fathomed that within 24 hours, virtually every one of them would be dead. [29][13] The program is four hours long. This was not a mass suicide. he I am taking solace in knowing that Larry Layton is going to pay back society for having assassinated the first congressman ever in this country, said Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo), who had accompanied Ryan on the trip as an aide. Layton and other temple members then ambushed the congressman and his party at the airstrip, according to an indictment returned against Layton last month in San Francisco. Former Peoples Temple member Larry John Layton was convicted Monday of conspiring to kill a U.S. congressman and a diplomat in a 1978 jungle ambush that led to a mass murder . Ryan and four other Americans were shot to death at an airstrip as they prepared to leave Jonestown. Don put it in his pocket and took a few more steps before carefully unfolding it. On Thursday, officials revealed that not all had been brought to a final resting place. So many people wanted to defect that we had to call Georgetown to request an extra plane. Meanwhile, ex-devotees of the Peoples Temple began sharing stories about Jones darker side. A man followed him and slipped a folded piece of paper into his hand, then disappeared back into the crowd. Ryan invited members of the press and a few of the Concerned Relatives to join him. While trying to keep the peace, he had been attacked with a knife. A year later, I applied to college, and he wrote me a letter of recommendation. "All the survivors in touch with me are traumatized because that door had been closed," said Jonestown survivor Laura Johnston Kohl, now a retired teacher from San Diego. ", (The night before the trip in December 1977, another secret: The Her mother and brother stayed behind. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Larry Layton was convicted in 1986 by a federal jury in San Francisco of conspiring in the 1978 murder of California congressman Leo Ryan and aiding and abetting in the attempted murder of. Ryan had gone to Guyana to investigate reports that relatives of his San Francisco-area constituents wre being held against their will. Layton was arrested shortly after the killings by Guyanese authorities and signed a confession taking responsibility for the airstrip deaths--a confession that his lawyers maintained was coerced. The Guyanese did not release Layton until now because one of his defense lawyers said his client owed him $37,000 in unpaid bills. But at the time, none of that occurred to me; I was thrilled to be working for a candidate I believed inone who always treated me with respect. He knew that Jones had considerable political clout, with close ties to Democratic leaders in San Francisco, Sacramento, and even with the State Department. Youll see what a wonderful place it is. He took us on a tour highlighting the most favorable aspects of the commune. He. [13], In May 1994, three males robbed a jewelry store in Daytona Beach, Florida, netting $500,000 (nearly $950,000 in 2022)[14] worth of gold and diamonds. fields, subsisting mostly on rice, Layton writes. In all, Layton was convicted of four charges--conspiracy and aiding and abetting in the shootings of Ryan and Dwyer. Children had their own special punishment, Layton writes. [28] In 2013, Lawton was made an honorary police officer by the Lake St. Louis, Missouri Police Department due to his work after prison. ". Hundreds of children and a U.S. congressman died at Jonestown, and 911 decomposing bodies were brought to Dover Air Force Base, home to the U.S. military's largest mortuary. homeless and help addicts get clean. As one of his top aides, I accompanied the delegation, venturing out on the ice floes where the clubbing took place. worked her way from front yard to back painting benches, the mailbox, even A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Although he called it a very grave crime, Peckham said Layton has shown great remorse, and his actions in 1978 reflected how the cult leader, the Rev. These are things that haunt me still," Layton says. A growing body of constituents known as the Concerned Relatives wrote Congressman Ryan with increasing alarm about their daughters or sons who had accompanied the charismatic demagogue to Guyana. Jim Jones, destroyed the will of his followers. Besides, when had a congressman ever been assassinated on foreign soil while on a congressional delegation trip? He treasured it. Layton became a senior insider in Jones' entourage. "So we as a family all sat down and we voted him out of his job." We landed in Georgetown, Guyanas capital, on November 14, 1978. Jones then orchestrated a ritual of mass murder and suicide at the group's nearby agricultural commune, ordering followers to drink cyanide-laced grape punch. The cremated remains of nine Jonestown victims were discovered in a decrepit, now-shuttered funeral home in Dover, officials said. Dissent was unthinkable. "I understand what these well-meaning secrets were for," Layton says. White Night!" Rep. Leo Ryan, who was working with San Francisco area residents worried Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every . ", 20 Years Later, Jonestown Survivor Confronts Horrors, LAYTON01/B/20OCT98/MN/SLF ---Deborah Layton is a survivor of Jonestown. [18], Lawton is believed to have hit around 20 to 25 jewelry stores,[11] stealing a self-estimated total of around $1518 million worth of high-value items, including watches, diamonds, and other gems. Peoples Temple follower Larry Layton, center, stands with police following his arrest in the shooting of two people, including California Congressman Leo Ryan, on a remote Guyana airstrip, Nov. 18 . -- the signal that meant an attack was imminent, an excuse for conducting a suicide drill. As soon as it became clear that we would be bringing more than one or two defectors home with us, the communal faade cracked. Joseph Russoniello did not criticize Peckhams sentence, but in urging that Layton serve 20 years before being eligible for parole, he cited Laytons suggestion to Jones that Layton use dynamite to blow up Ryans plane and its unwanted outsiders--a fact that was not revealed until Tuesday. Larry Layton, a former member of the People's Temple cult, is to be released on $250,000 bail pending an appeal of his conviction last December for aiding and abetting the murder of. Jim Jones orchestrated the mass murder-suicide of Peoples Temple cult members on November 18, 1978. It was imminently clear Jonestown was a hierarchical community, with the power structure resembling some sort of plantation: the majority of the Temple members were black, while the leadership was almost exclusively white. There are 40+ professionals named "Larry Layton", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. In 1977, after a magazine expose, Jones and his followers fled to Jonestown, a compound carved out of the remote jungles of Guyana. Then the adults. Layton became a senior insider in Jones' entourage. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Larry Layton to pay them a last tribute. My recovery continuedthough that very word is not an accurate description of the aftermath of being shot. seemed to have them for us.". the doorbell in a frenzy of bright stripes and squiggles. | AP. After the churchs initial development, it began to be based more and more on social and humanitarian efforts. Layton's mother, Lisa, had died of cancer 10 days before the mass suicide. Unrivaled Mac notes apps for fuss-free note-taking, 6 Actionable Tips for Improving Your Websites SEO, Copyright 2023 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes. because I was too "[27] Another time he said: "I had my arms pinned down, and I was beaten and peed on by the guards. In a cabin with about six women from the Temple, I took a top bunk, sweating as a downpour opened up outside. He said that some of the recipients could be innocent. Congressman Ryans body was probably 15 feet away. U.S. Atty. | AP/San Francisco Examiner. Glenn Youngkin rules out presidential campaign while in California, 7 bodies found during search for missing Oklahoma teens, US to lift most federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates next week, Multiple fatalities on Illinois highway during a blinding windstorm. Jones, who demanded that his flock call him Father, was one of the most politically powerful people in San Francisco, wined and dined by such luminaries as Rosalynn Carter, Assemblyman Willie Brown, Mayor George Moscone and Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally. We heard that the church had weapons, and that Jones was paranoid and possibly on drugs. brother and I Five bullets hit me from point-blank range, piercing my right arm, leg, and back. Jackie Speier manages a smile as she is wheeled on a stretcher at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, Nov. 20, 1978. Among them were Sams teenaged granddaughters. [19][20] One bullet narrowly missed Lawton, but struck his brother. Jonestown massacre In Jonestown Only one man, Temple member Larry Layton, was tried in the United States for his involvement in the November 18 events. Members of the press and the Concerned Relatives waited behind on the airstrip until the truck could come back for a second load. | California Historical Society. of Instead, she grabbed her daughter's acrylic paints Laytons first trial ended in a hung jury in 1981, with 11 of the 12 jurors voting to acquit him. After over twenty years in prison, Larry Layton was released on parole in 2002, largely due to the testimony of Vernon Gosney, one of the few survivors of the massacre, and the Federal Chief Judge, Robert F. Peckham. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Hollywood writers strike over streaming pay after talks fail, El Chapo sons send Mexico cartels cheap fentanyl into U.S., indictment says, Far from Russia, a pro-Moscow sliver of land tries to cling to its identity and keep war at bay, Virginia Gov. He said Layton was insane at the time and was drugged by Jones with a mood-enhancing stimulant. "It was a warm day and all of a sudden a breeze came up and the back door Ten days later, on November 18, Jones and 912 of his followers committed mass suicide. My list kept growingwhat started with two names was now more than 40. Jones responded by telling them that if any actions were taken to remove John, the entire Jonestown population would commit suicide. Some were shot by Mrs. Layton's former husband, Dr. Laurence Layton, an eminent scientist, was left behind in Berkeley, Calif., having lost a wife and at least $250,000 that she gave to Mr. Jones. Although he was indicted in San Francisco, arraignment was scheduled for New York because that is where he first landed on his return to the United States from Guyana, where he has been jailed for the past two years. And he assigned two of his staff members to come along: Jim Schollaert and me. consulate officials. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. chaperone of a youth group. [26] He was incarcerated in many prisons during his sentence, which included Jesup in Georgia, Riker's Island in New York, Edgefield in South Carolina, and Yazoo City in Mississippi. Left-right: Jim Schollaert, Jackie Speier and Congressman Leo Ryan. Mr. Layton retired in 1978, at the height of the Jonestown tragedy, and never worked again. Jonestown survivor Deborah Layton grew up in a house of secrets. They all joined Peoples Temple, and Larry and Deborah Layton quickly became two of Jones's closest confidants. led by U.S. March 5, 1999 Laurence Laird Layton, a distinguished scientist whose later life was devastated by his family's involvement with the Peoples Temple cult, died Wednesday in his Emeryville home. In between his trials, he lived under an assumed name in Eureka and, more recently, in San Francisco, where he sold real estate and took computer classes. Larry Allan Layton, 68, was charged with two counts of reckless endangerment and one count of disorderly conduct. For seven weeks, She was entrusted with flights to Europe and Panama to open Temple bank accounts, where Jones stashed the millions he was taking from Temple. [10], Lawton executed his first robbery when he was 28, an inside job to collect insurance money. Debbie said the couple had gone to court to try to compel the Guyanese government to intervene; Rev. Lawton gained notoriety for committing a string of jewelry store robberies along the Atlantic Seaboard prior to his arrest in 1996. Georgetown, "I knew we'd entered a prison camp and I knew I wanted out. What an evil thing that Jim Jones did. View the profiles of professionals named "Larry Layton" on LinkedIn. In fact, I would have been on that truck, with a rifle. Mr. Layton's children said his one wish in his later years was that his son, Larry, could be freed. At least 10 other Americans were wounded in the attack. Larry Layton had gotten onto the truck with us, which struck me as a glaring red flaghe was an entrenched member of the hierarchy, one of the true believers. Lawton filed a lawsuit against the prison and staff alleging that they violated his rights. Once out, Layton sounded the alarm: Jones planned to force his followers He genuinely believed that he had some sort of protective shield around him, despite the fact that we werent traveling with any military escort or protection. With the dark glasses he wore indoors and out, his glossy black hair and Few heeded. Lawton gained notoriety for committing a string of jewelry store robberies along the Atlantic Seaboard prior to his arrest in 1996. Water is sufficient for hydration unless you are participating in an activity that lasts longer than one hour. With heavy hearts, we announce the death of Larry Layton (Johnstown, Pennsylvania), who passed away on December 21, 2017 at the age of 55. [37], Lawton is an advocate for prisoners and their rights, and comments on the justice system. "When I joined Peoples Temple, I was 17 and it was like joining the Peace Corps," she says. He was cracking. Police investigating homicide at northwest Austin apartment complex Monday night, DPS searching for driver responsible for killing motorcyclist, fleeing scene, Storm chances return Thursday; some could be strong, Slow debris clean-up in Little Walnut Creek leads to flooded homes during rainstorms. Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones (left) shakes hands with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone (right) after being sworn in to serve on the San Francisco Housing Authority, Nov. 24, 1977. "And I thought, if I get hit by a truck, my epitaph will be, 'Jonestown survivor dies on Bay Bridge.' I was even unaffected by the rice weevils and other strange bugs we ingested daily.". Congressman Ryan and I were among the first shift of the delegation to climb in for the excruciatingly slow six-mile drive to the commune. It felt like a Mack truck had just sped over me. The two store owners were bound while two individuals robbed the store and a third acted as a lookout and the other as the getaway driver. She mentioned a Bay Area couple, the Stoens, who had defected and were fighting for the return of their young son, John. An eyewitness who escaped described how people who did not cooperate were injected with poison where they sat, or were held down and injected with poison.. to Jones at the first Peoples Temple in far Northern California, where Lisa Layton, already ill with cancer, died in early November 1978. Debbie stood in line to drink the red liquid that she was told would kill her in a matter of minutes. When she tried to write about abandoning her mother, who would die 10 I just needed to hang on. He had completed his mission and was trying to take off from an airstrip six miles from the jungle compound of Jonestown when a trailer filled with eight armed Jones devotees pulled onto the runway and began firing.
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