SAN FRANCISCO Larry Layton was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for his role in conspiring to murder Rep. Leo Ryan in Guyana in 1978. In a brief and halting speech to the court today, Mr. Layton expressed his regrets to the families of Mr. Ryan and the others who were killed. He was to use the skill when the flock made its planned migration to the Guyana settlement, which Jones already had picked out and named Jonestown. Ryan and I asked one or two Temple members at a time to come talk to us. Later on, I decided I had to show them. I dont have any money to donate, but Id like to volunteer. Ive shared my Guyana story countless times, but its still a challenge to go back and relive those days. 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. I spoke with a woman named Edith Parks, the matriarch of three generations of Temple members who wanted out. Somehow, through the encroaching darkness of my final thoughts, I saw my 87-year-old Grandma Emma. Larry Layton was the only person prosecuted for any of the events in and around Jonestown. In Jonestown Only one man, Temple member Larry Layton, was tried in the United States for his involvement in the November 18 events. Family Tragedy: Hitler's Germany to Jones's Cult, https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/04/archives/family-tragedy-hitlers-germany-to-joness-cult-the-layton-familys.html. [22] Fingerprint evidence connected Lawton to the October 1994 Palm Bay heist, and he was charged with that crime as well. Under the Federal parole system, a person sentenced to life in prison is not normally considered for parole until 10 years have been served. Hours after Mr. Ryan and four others were shot to death at the airstrip near Jonestown, which was the headquarters of the cult, the cult's leader, the Rev. Later that night, Jones had another suicide exercise. Asserting that the Government wanted to make Mr. Layton a scapegoat for the Jonestown massacre, he said, ''From the State Department point of view, from the U.S. Embassy point of view, the whole matter would be easily resolved if you blamed Larry Layton.'' Jim Jones. (It was the 60s.) | AP. Not long after she left, her parents were rounded up with other Jews and placed on a train to a death camp. But this particular morning, Jones told his followers that they had to kill themselves to keep from being tortured by mercenaries who were preparing an ambush. She died of cancer in Guyana three weeks before the death ritual. Mrs. Layton saw Mr. Jones strip Larry of two wives. I wanted to leave my daughter a legacy that wasn't that simple.". This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Ryan joined us for the trekone of roughly two dozen of us crammed in the bed of the truck, with dozens of would-be defectors left behind, belongings packed, waiting to escape. In addition, Mr. Layton was convicted of aiding and abetting the murder of Mr. Ryan and the attempted murder of Mr. Dwyer. By Robert Lindsey Special to The New York Times. I was almost one of them. At 16, Im not sure I understood what a state assemblyman did, but when my parents received a solicitation from Leo Ryans reelection campaign in 1966, I mailed back a note: Im in high school. In San Francisco, his church was lauded for its social programs, and Jones efforts to feed the poor and fight segregation found receptive ears with progressive politicians. He spoke often of apocalypseJones chose Redwood Valley because he believed it was one of a few places in the country that could survive a nuclear holocaustyet insisted the Peoples Temple would exist as a sort of heaven on Earth, with himself in the role of God. (CHRONICLE PHOTO BY SUSANNA FROHMAN), Restaurant chain slated to close site at Bay Area mall, One of the largest movie theaters in SF to close permanently, Grapevine closed indefinitely due to heavy snow and ice, Plan to bring bullet train from LA to Vegas is underway, 'Zero visibility' conditions: All roads to Tahoe are closed, What it looks like inside Coit Towers former apartment, Graupel falls on Disneyland, shocks guests, Avalanche slams into Tahoe apartment building amid blizzard, Hundreds of thousands of workers have abandoned downtown SF, Tahoe's snowfall totals are on track to break records, Report: Matthew McConaughey has a massive Salesforce paycheck, Popular yet divisive fast food chain coming to this Bay Area town. Mr . [44] Lawton has a YouTube channel, and he has made videos analyzing heists in movies and video games such as Grand Theft Auto V; he also plays Prison Architect.[44][45]. Never one to accept second-hand information, he decided to embark on a fact-findingand potentially life-savingtrip. The news at the time and the history lessons to follow usually fail to mention that a number of Peoples Temple members were shot, several of whom were in the field between the pavilion and the jungle, clearly trying to escape the massacre. [41], In 2017, he appeared in a middle school in Havelock, North Carolina to explain his prison experiences. In 2009 the Rockledge Florida police used the DVDs as part of a community policing project with the money to buy the DVDs procured through asset forfeiture. Subsequently, he said, she urged him to have an affair. See also [ edit] Jim Jones A second jury convicted Larry, although four jurors took what the trial judge called an unprecedented step of asking for leniency in Larrys sentencing. Jones responded by telling them that if any actions were taken to remove John, the entire Jonestown population would commit suicide. [23][34], However, the superintendent of student services at Brevard Public Schools declined to use the program, and questioned its effectiveness, claiming that "[w]hile the program is well-organized and well-intentioned, it does not follow the scientific evidence-based research guidelines. [31] The DVDs contained condensed versions of Lawton's program and were 67 minutes long. He had on a big yellow poncho, and his eyes were set in a sullen glare. Whatever impelled me to send in the card changed the course of my life. . [10] High school students can use the time spent in the program towards the 75 hours of community service required for the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. Mr. Layton was convicted here last Dec. 1 of conspiracy in the murder of Mr. Ryan, a California Democrat who had led a group that was investigating conditions at Jonestown and reports that people were being held there against their will. Mr. Jones repeatedly sent word to her that he could cure her from Guyana, and she waited for his efforts to work. [25] He received an additional sentence in 2002 for giving false witness. Judge Peckham also set April 21 for a hearing on a motion for a new trial filed by Mr. Layton's new defense attorney, Robert R. Bryan. An uncle, Dr. James Franck, won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1935. The land later became the site of a large Union Carbide plant. He went, and pursued the destiny that brought him to trial in San Francisco. [40] Lawton has also shown concern over the prevalence of fentanyl-laced heroin, noting that in the past dealers had tried to sell pure heroin without any additives. Jim Jones would order more than 900 of his followers to commit suicide. ", 20 Years Later, Jonestown Survivor Confronts Horrors, LAYTON01/B/20OCT98/MN/SLF ---Deborah Layton is a survivor of Jonestown. ''The story of Jonestown is really the story of a world gone mad. Excerpt from UNDAUNTED: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back by Jackie Speier, reprinted under a license arrangement originating with Amazon Publishing. Ryan was gunned down by a band of temple members intent on stopping the visitors from leaving and reporting the doings of the cult to the outside world. Though driven by the kind of underlying insecurity that so often fuels tyrants, Jones appeared to offer hope, redemption, and an idealistic new life. Don put it in his pocket and took a few more steps before carefully unfolding it. There were piles of used syringes at the scene. Larry Layton, who posed as a defector, was captured after badly wounding two people inside a plane trying to take off. Layton did so. All I could think was I am not going to make Grandma live through my funeral. They called it Jonestown. Within minutes, Ryan and four others were shot dead. Leo Ryan assured me that there was nothing to worry about. The outfits were a ridiculous gimmick, and the role was clearly objectifying. I hope tonight is the last one. Lawton was critical of the move, saying that "[c]hain gangs send a bad message about [the US]." And then I realized that confirming one tiny detail could mean that the worst of the testimonies were true. The temple sent Layton to school for training as an X-ray technician. Layton complied, and Jones took Carolyn as his mistress. By that time, it was obvious that some of his disciples intended to leave. 1978 CULT FIGURE GETS LIFE TERM IN CONGRESSMAN'S JUNGLE SLAYING, https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/04/us/1978-cult-figure-gets-life-term-in-congressman-s-jungle-slaying.html. None of the Temple members showed any interest in receiving correspondence from home. His father, an electrical engineer, died when Larry was 8 and the boy had to move in with his grandfather, a stern Methodist preacher. Leo Ryan wanted answers. As I shook his hand, I looked at his sideburns. The store owner managed to break free and grabbed a .38 caliber pistol and fired five shots at the robbers as they fled. The letters were presented during the hearing which resulted in a recommendation for Larrys release. | AP. Her brother, Larry, later became the only person ever charged in connection with the airstrip massacre and, after two . Mr. Layton cried as his attorney described conditions at Jonestown and said that many prosecution witnesses must feel guilty for leaving loved ones behind to die. That was the last moment I remember with any real clarity before I surrendered my body to the medical staff. ''Why not pin this on Larry Layton, then close the book and not look at the hard questions of why Leo Ryan and all those Americans died?'' We landed in Georgetown, Guyanas capital, on November 14, 1978. Later, after being barred from the university as a Jew, Lisa took training as physical therapist, which was permitted by the Nazis. Layton, Deborah 1953- PERSONAL: Born in 1953, in Tooele, UT; daughter of Laurence Laird and Lisa Layton; married; children: Lauren. Don hung back for a moment before approaching Congressman Ryan and me at the picnic table and surreptitiously passing along the note. In the summer of 1978, Lisa Philips Layton died of cancer in Jonestown, Guyana, three months before the Rev. ", Crimes for which children went to the well included "stealing food from the kitchen, expressing homesickness, failing a socialism exam, or even natural childish rebelliousness.". "The reason I did well," Layton says now, "is that I'm a little soldier and I follow orders so well.". In 1973, when Larry and Deborah Layton and their spouses were living at the Ukiah temple, an acquaintance of Mrs. Layton thought he had cancer, and her children urged Mrs. Layton to bring him to Ukiah. 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. "When I joined Peoples Temple, I was 17 and it was like joining the Peace Corps," she says. Congressman Ryan assured me that there was nothing to worry about. Over the next decade, Jones moved his congregation and changed its name several times before settling on Peoples Temple around 1964. Deborah watched at close hand her brother's mental deterioration under Mr. Jones's oppressiveness: Larry had been very hung upon Carolyn, he loved her, and Jim took her away from him and gave him Karen, but then he took Karen away, too. He was found guilty of conspiracy and aiding and abetting in the murder of Ryan and the attempted murder of U.S. embassy official Richard Dwyer and was sentenced to Read More Debbie stood in line to drink the red liquid that she was told would kill her in a matter of minutes. ( 2007-01-15) [1] Jonestown: Paradise Lost is a 2007 documentary television film on the History Channel about the final days of Jonestown, the Peoples Temple, and Jim Jones. I noticed an elderly woman stuffing pieces of bacon into her pockets; the ample spread was just another showpiece. 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. In Ukiah, Layton's free will was already beginning to slip away, according to his lawyers. That brought him to trial in San Francisco taken to remove John, the matriarch of generations. Donate, but Id like to volunteer the site of a world mad... 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