Although some of Joness most zealous followers may have consumed the poison voluntarily, the vast majority were murdered outright and against their will. Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? The robbers had been there the day before and returned asking about a ring. 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. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Within a year, a few Jonestown defectors had managed to return to the Bay Areamost notably, Debbie Layton Blakey, whod been Jones trusted aide and worked as the Temples financial secretary. SAN FRANCISCO . Her book "Seductive Poison" will be in bookstores in November. He called Layton the ultimate victim of Jim Jones.. tradition. ", She blithely ignored the warning signs -- the fake "cancer healings" and the increasingly hostile confrontations, when Jones would scream at members of his flock for faintly perceived faults or have them paddled harshly with the "board of education.". [30][33] He was the first ex-con to ever become an honorary police officer. 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. Where is Larry Layton today? - chroniclesdengen.com The outfits were a ridiculous gimmick, and the role was clearly objectifying. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Larry Layton to pay them a last tribute. Example video title will go here for this video. to Jones at the first Peoples Temple in far Northern California, where "He kept holding on," Deborah Layton said, "holding on with the hope that some day Larry might be released from prison.". Her mother and brother stayed behind. The family moved from Maryland to Northern California, where Mr. Layton was appointed chief of pharmacology at the Western Regional Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. for 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. It was nothing of the kind. It was a mass murder. Many of his papers on this top-secret work are still classified. spiritual. Inquisitive by nature, he was a proponent of experiential legislating, preferring to go out and experience issues firsthand before he decided what to do. Suddenly, my body was crushed by a blow to my side. In August 1979, he joined the Coast Guard[9] and took part in the Mariel boatlift. can really trust," or by the knowledge that failure meant punishment, physical jungle. Oh my God: Its true. It was a message that appealed to the dispossessed, which is why it made sense for the Peoples Temple to relocate to San Francisco around 1972. Children had their own special punishment, Layton writes. The hundreds of elderly were told that if they attempted escape, they would be left to die prolonged deaths alone in the depths of the jungle. At the compound, Don wandered off to smoke a cigarette. Leo Ryan wanted answers. The Guyanese did not release Layton until now because one of his defense lawyers said his client owed him $37,000 in unpaid bills. were sort of pushed onto the path of looking for answers -- and that Jim She managed to contact her sister in Davis, who wired a ticket to Georgetown, where Layton and other Temple members were staying in a house the Temple owned. 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. And it wasn't an isolated incident. Ryan wanted to investigate. Laytons lawyer said that made Layton more susceptible to Jones spell. Larry Allan Layton, 68, was charged with two counts of reckless endangerment and one count of disorderly conduct. Lisa, Deborah and Larry Layton all went to Jonestown, but in May 1978, Deborah, increasingly disturbed by Jones' paranoid ravings and brutal treatment of his flock, escaped and flew back to the United States. Looking back at the Jonestown tragedy Photos - ABC News Layton had denounced his sister Debbie for defecting, telling Speier that Jonestown was "an extraordinarily good . Horrible Photos From the 1978 Jonestown Massacre, the Worst - Vintag "We would do what they wanted, either cremation or send the bodies back home. "He was so depressed that he was not able to conduct research," Thomas Layton said. By the early 1970s, however, Mr. Layton's personal life changed in ways he had hardly thought possible. He later became a world expert in the field of human allergies. Former People's Temple member Larry Layton, freed from jail I have no idea how much time passed until I turned my head and opened my eyes. Larry now lives in Northern California. Although he had no formal training as a minister and no affiliation with any organized religion, his high-octane enthusiasm and open-armed policy attracted a diverse range of followers. Larry Layton, a member of Jim Jones' Peoples Temple - UPI What finally happened to Larry Layton? - Quora Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? To the stretchers. Ever on the alert for malcontents, Jones would order recalcitrant Temple members -- those who questioned his authority -- into "The Box," a stifling underground cubicle the size of a coffin. 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. What episode does Luna get Ancient Fairy Dragon? Layton and her mother arrived in Jonestown in December 1977. After that trip, I remember telling myself that never again would I witness such violence at such close range. Nobody joined thinking their lives would be taken.". In Congress, he joined a March 1978 Greenpeace mission to investigate the slaughter of baby seals in Newfoundland, Canada. I was one of Larry's lead lawyers in his first U.S. trial in 1981, which resulted in an 11 to 1 vote for acquittal on faulty charges of conspiracy to kill the congressman. But Layton, saying he wishes he could ease the pain. How to plan a weekend getaway to Mount Shasta, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Lawton was critical of the move, saying that "[c]hain gangs send a bad message about [the US]." 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. They called it Jonestown. Northern California Larry now lives in Northern California.. 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. The government theory during the first U.S. trial in the U.S. was that Larry knew of the plot to kill Ryan and that he was involved in it. To the volatile flight home. 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. . Dissent was unthinkable. Back in the compound, Jones was choreographing 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. After a few weeks, Layton grew "accustomed to the unusual smells in the food and drink. View the profiles of professionals named "Larry Layton" on LinkedIn. It felt as though my mother was standing there and she was saying, Larry Layton is a scapegoat for everyone connected with the Peoples Temple mass deaths eight years ago and had no part . While on the phone listening to the allegations that would soon be made public, Jones scribbled a note to his aides: We leave tonight.. A former Quaker and a conscientious objector during the Vietnam war, Layton also faces three other counts in the indictment: conspiracy to kill Ryan, conspiracy to kill Richard Dwyer, deputy chief of the United States mission in Guyana, and the attempted murder of Dwyer. about 'How Did This Happen, and How Did I Not See It Coming?' Some were cremated. He has appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Christian Broadcasting Network, and Fox News. Larry Layton was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for his role in conspiring to murder Rep. Leo Ryan in Guyana in 1978. [43] He also hosted a local talk radio show. Jones had a penchant for suddenly getting on the compound loudspeaker long after everyone had gone to bed and shouting, "White Night! [28], After release he went to Palm Bay, Florida and started LL Research and Consulting and met a business partner. Behind the wheel of an airplane, I waited for the shooting to stop and said my Act of Contrition, praying for forgiveness and waiting for the lights to go out. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. [42][13], Lawton has made many media appearances. Within minutes, Ryan and four others were shot dead. Increasing numbers of people approached us. the doorbell in a frenzy of bright stripes and squiggles. by rite of Jones greeted us at the compound. 20 Years Later, Jonestown Survivor Confronts Horrors - SFGATE She got a job in investment banking, married, had a child, divorced. I was even unaffected by the rice weevils and other strange bugs we ingested daily.". The night before, our delegation watched Jones followers perform a show at their compound. Water is sufficient for hydration unless you are participating in an activity that lasts longer than one hour. It was. [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. Some bodies that arrived back in the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in 1978 were claimed by families. We didnt want a group to present a canned response or any individual to look to others for their answers. grotesque dance of death. Then-State Assemblyman Leo J. Ryan behind the bars in a Folsom prison cell in Feb. 1970, where he spent a week living as an inmate to learn needs for reform. Others, who presumably refused to drink the Kool-Aida flippant, misguided phrase I very much wish could be scrubbed from our lexiconwere injected with cyanide and other poisons. 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. Indescribable pain consumed me, leaving room only for a fleeting thought that I should pretend to be dead. Ryan and I asked one or two Temple members at a time to come talk to us. "I was ready to be overwhelmed by emotion," she says, "but when we got into the area, it just wasn't there. He had engineered complete authoritycollecting members Social Security and disability checks, and determining when and how his disciples could communicate with their families. 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. After Jonestown, Layton retreated to secrets again -- "I was so ashamed. Mr. Layton is survived by two sons, Thomas and Larry (Laurence John Layton); two daughters, Deborah Layton and Annalisa Layton Valentine, both of Piedmont, and three grandchildren. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, about a dozen men leapt from the tractor, leveled their automatic weapons, and fast approached. It made no sense that he would be trying to leave Jonestown. "And I thought, if I get hit by a truck, my epitaph will be, 'Jonestown survivor dies on Bay Bridge.' IamA Jonestown survivor/whistle blower. I was a trusted aide - Reddit What an evil thing that Jim Jones did. Inside the Jonestown massacre - CNN.com Layton, Jones Had Sexual Relationship, Lawyer Says None of those red flags made the congressman reconsider. Enter Larry Layton, who worked at the Jonestown hospital as an X-ray technician. It was an implausible ending for the fiery preacher, who had curried favor among the fashionable elite of the Democratic Party. Ryan and four other Americans were shot to death at an airstrip as they prepared to leave Jonestown. 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. Jones The conspiracy to murder Ryan carried a mandatory life sentence, though federal law makes him eligible for parole in 10 years. Williams spent a decade with the Peoples Temple, including three months in Jonestown, named after the group's founder, Jim Jones. His suggestion that I would learn far more from first-hand experience was in step with the way he approached politics. GUYANA - NOVEMBER 18: People's Temple follower Larry Layton (C) stands with police following his arrest November 18, 1978 in the shooting of two people on a remote Guyana airstrip. (AP) -- Thirty-five years ago, funeral directors in Delaware struggled to quickly bury and cremate the remains of more than 900 people who died in a suicide-murder in Jonestown, Guyana, many of them Peoples Temple followers who drank cyanide-laced punch. I had read the articles and listened to hours of testimony. GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jan. 2 (AP) A Guyanese magistrate ruled today that Larry Layton, a member of the People's Temple, must stand trial in the slaying of Representative Leo J. Ryan. And he assigned two of his staff members to come along: Jim Schollaert and me. They also found 24 other containers of marked, identified remains, and five containers of remains they could not immediately identify, said Kimberly Chandler, spokeswoman for the Delaware Division of Forensic Science. same time, it's because of those secrets that I think my mother and my His battles with the church arent over, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, U.N. envoy says Sudans warring sides agree to negotiate, Yellen says U.S. could hit debt ceiling as soon as June 1, U.S. says 20,000 Russians killed in Ukraine war since December, Speaker Kevin McCarthy addresses Knesset amid fraught U.S.-Israel ties, First Republic: Cheap, interest-only jumbo mortgages to Silicon Valleys elite fueled the banks failure. A self-anointed minister, as a young man he started proselytizing outside a storefront church in Indianapolis, and by 1955, had formed the Wings of Deliverance church. 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. They had passed. I admired Ryans worthy missions, but questioned if I shared his bottomless capacity to bear witness. As soon as it became clear that we would be bringing more than one or two defectors home with us, the communal faade cracked. Jones had ordered the ambush out of fear that Ryan would expose the cult. Family Tragedy: Hitler's Germany to Jones's Cult "The reason I did well," Layton says now, "is that I'm a little soldier and I follow orders so well.". Ryan invited members of the press and a few of the Concerned Relatives to join him. U.S. Atty. (1.8-by-1.2-meter) underground enclosure. I only wish there was something I could do to ease the pain, he said, fighting to keep his voice from breaking. Traumatizing family rifts erupted on the spot, with mothers and fathers engaged in literal tug-of-wars over their children. [11] He then began robbing jewelry stores along the Atlantic Coast,[3] using his contacts within the Gambino crime family to fence the stolen merchandise. "It's just so sad, for me as a survivor," said Yulanda Williams, 58, now a sergeant with the San Francisco Police Department. Larry Lawton - Wikipedia It was coined after a delusional, pseudo-guru named Jim Jones led his cult, the Peoples Temple, to mass suicide. She looks away for a moment, then brightens and starts to talk about a visit she made to Jonestown only a few months ago, accompanied by a crew from the Arts & Entertainment network, which is making a documentary on Peoples Temple. To go back to the gunshots. I would be in the first group; Congressman Ryan insisted that he stay behind to make certain that every person who wanted to leave made it to Port Kaituma safely. Watch movie trailers, order food and drinks online, find luxury seating, and see showtimes of feature films and movies currently playing near you at Megaplex Theatres. After the war, Mr. Layton had a series of government jobs. The Prosecutions of Larry Layton - Alternative - Jonestown The next year, his church relocated to Redwood Valley, a small community in northern California. "So we as a family all sat down and we voted him out of his job." Deborah Layton is now 45, lives in an elegant house in Piedmont and takes her 12-year-old daughter to play in soccer games. Today. Don put it in his pocket and took a few more steps before carefully unfolding it. By that time, it was obvious that some of his disciples intended to leave. Jones had become increasingly paranoid, convinced that the CIA, the FBI and the media were out to destroy him. Rep. Ryan and I arranged to meet her. Rep. Leo Ryan, who was working with San Francisco area residents worried I was feet away from Jones, close enough to hear him trying to convince people to change their minds. [30] The Lake St. Louis police chief praised Larry's message about the consequences of going to prison and said it is not a scared straight program, noting that Lawton said "fear doesn't have a lasting impact. It was just a matter of time. Sept. 26, 1981 Larry Layton: Survivor of the Peoples Temple Larry Layton, Quaker and pacifist, entered the Peoples Temple in 1968 to join the march to social justice as charted by the. I hope tonight is the last one. Onboard, every bump we hit shot an arrow of pain through my body. The remaining victims were cremated or buried in family cemeteries over the period of several months following the massacre. home in the hills ringing San Francisco Bay. Northern California For those who don't know, Larry Layton is a man who pretended to be a Jonestown defector and asked to leave Jonestown with Leo Ryan and the NBC News crew, and Layton opened fire on the plane that was supposed to carry people from Port Kaituma back to a larger city in Guyana. Layton, the cult's X-ray technician and a former conscientious objector, allegedly posed as a false defector from Jones and left the Jonestown commune the day of the mass-suicide. 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. Larry Lawton - YouTube I did not feel confident this was a good idea. Jones died from a bullet to the brain. When people refer to the Jonestown massacre as a mass suicide, I am enraged. He was born June 30, 1940 in Long Branch NJ to William and Edna (Keller) Layton. Guyana charged Layton as an accomplice in all five airstrip murders, but tried him first for the attempted murder of two Temple defectors. He never did.". Twenty years ago this month, Jones and 912 of his followers committed mass suicide at the jungle compound. I dont have any money to donate, but Id like to volunteer. Though driven by the kind of underlying insecurity that so often fuels tyrants, Jones appeared to offer hope, redemption, and an idealistic new life. We split up, as Jones had arranged. Robert Bryan, who took over the case after Laytons conviction, said he hopes to win a new trial for Layton. [16] Then in October 1994, four individuals robbed a jewelry store in Palm Bay, Florida. "I was driving across the bridge," she says when asked why, after all these years, she wanted to revisit the horrors of Jonestown. 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. of At one point, Congressman Ryan interrupted our tour to make sure that the press and Concerned Relatives had been given the transportation to join us. 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. Murder Trial Ordered for Suspect in Ryan Slaying To the tarmac. Jim Jones' compound in Guyana, a witness testified Wednesday. If convicted, Layton could receive a mandatory life sentence for Ryan's killing, up to 20 years for the attempted killing of Dwyer, and up to life on each of the two conspiracy counts. I wanted to leave my daughter a legacy that wasn't that simple.". Judge Orders Release of Man Convicted in Guyana Death The first issue is how do we settle it to make sure the ashes are where they belong at Evergreen where everybody is," she said, referring to the cemetery that is the site of the mass grave. Larry Lawton. He is serving a life sentence in the federal prison at Lompoc. Everybody bolted in different directions. A family memorial service will be conducted at a later date. 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. So many people wanted to defect that we had to call Georgetown to request an extra plane. Lawrence Robert Lawton (born October 3, 1961) is an American ex-convict, author, paralegal, motivational speaker, and YouTuber. Layton Guilty of Role in '78 Ryan Murder - Los Angeles Times Most of them were sent back home," said funeral director William Torbert Sr., 79. Simpson skips media with early release", "Schatzkammer Dresden: "Super-GAU" im Grnen Gewlbe | DW | 26.11.2019", "Ex-jewel robber seeks redemption through mentoring", "Ex-con gives teenagers dose of prison realities", "Man plant einen Juwelenraub quasi von hinten", "Ex-Con Larry Lawton Finds Redemption in Rescuing At-Risk Youths", "Former prisoner DAREs Havelock students to make good choice", "$500,000 in 1994 2022 | Inflation Calculator", "Cops: Heist might be tied to robbery in Daytona", "Daytona police seek pair who looted jewelry store", "$480,000 in 1994 2022 | Inflation Calculator", "Jeweler helps police nab suspect in Fla", "Pearls of Wisdom: Ex-jewel thief imparts the perils of prison to the next generation", "An ex-con on how intelligence and street smarts equal a successful prison escape", "Reality Check participants get added incentive", "Larry Lawton, America's Most Notorious Jewel Thief, Just Wants To Masturbate In Prison In Peace", "Ex-Diamond Thief: Here's How $200M Heist Went Down", "Ex-con Larry Lawton to become an honorary police officer", "Cops try convict's DVD to deter teen crime", "Ex-con to receive honorary police officer title", "Young golfers, mentors join in Reality Check", "Making a difference in the lives of Youth", "Witness tampering alleged at Casey Anthony trial", "Ex-offenders face big debt challenges after prison", "Torres: Pain pills gone, heroin makes strong comeback", "D.A.R.E. 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 became a senior insider in Jones' entourage. The dilapidated former funeral home in Dover had a padlock on the double front doors. First the children; poison was squirted into babies' mouths with a syringe. Sam was far from the only person concerned about Jones malicious influence over a loved one. 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. Those who refused were shot; children were injected with poison. sweeping 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. After being airlifted to a U.S. military base in Puerto Rico, he was sent onward on to a hospital in Santa Rosa, California, where his father and brothersall of them armedprotected him from the "angels" he believed the late Jones would send to finally finish him. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Jones ran the Peoples Temple in San Francisco in the early 1970s. I asked to speak to Monica Bagby, one of the names on Dons note. ", "Every week we're promised death, a relief from this miserable life. My ribs were broken. Jones died of a gunshot wound to the head. Many hours before the plane came, somehow, word filtered in that after Jones had released his death squad to the airstrip, he had led more than 900 of his flock into his White Night of death. He founded a free health clinic and a drug rehabilitation program, emerging as a political force. All of those children. Escape came in May 1978 when Jones sent Layton to Georgetown as announcing her mother was Jewish. We heard that the church had weapons, and that Jones was paranoid and possibly on drugs. Five months later, on the night of November 18, 1978, Jones sent a gang of gunmen to an airstrip in Port Kaituma, where Representative Leo Ryan of San Mateo and a fact-finding party that had visited Jonestown were preparing to leave. Five bullets had ripped through me, devastating the right side of my body. [2] The book is published in Italy, France, Australia, Germany, Thailand and United Kingdom. I spoke with a woman named Edith Parks, the matriarch of three generations of Temple members who wanted out. White Night!" Not a single person we spoke to expressed a desire to leave, not even those whose family members had flown all the way to Guyana. On the plane to Guyana, Nov. 18, 1978. Twenty years after Jonestown, a survivor looks back All of those people I had been standing beside, speaking to, sharing a cabin with. PIEDMONT, California (AP) -- (The night before she'd left for the school, her father had stunned her . In 1965, after riots shook Watts, an African-American neighborhood in Los Angeles, Ryan briefly took a job there as a substitute teacher while serving in the state Assembly, and used the experience to shape education policy. Instead, she grabbed her daughter's acrylic paints The robbers drew what police at the time believed were firearms, and restrained the store owner. [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. The approach continued even after hed moved from Sacramento to Washington, D.C. His following grew, and Jones became the leader of one of the first mixed-race churches in Indiana. 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 life in prison, though he was released in 2002. Layton was 17 when her already converted brother, Larry, introduced her to Jones at the first Peoples Temple in far Northern California, where he believed he could best survive the atomic apocalypse he expected. [32] By 2010, Lawton had shipped 10,000 DVDs across the country. "It was devastating to him. Roper estimates that if the Kool-Aid Man were brought up to the scale represented in the iconic ads, he would measure about 6 feet tall, have a dry weight of almost 6,000 pounds (11,000 pounds when filled with Kool-Aid), and his glass frame would measure 3.6 inches thick. "He didn't feel good about it," his son, Thomas Layton, an anthropology professor at San Jose State University, said yesterday.

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