I felt my stomach knot. "When I joined Peoples Temple, I was 17 and it was like joining the Peace Corps," she says. "[33] Lawton and the police chief later appeared before United States Congress in recognition of the program. When people refer to the Jonestown massacre as a mass suicide, I am enraged. As a trusted financial lieutenant for cult leader Jim Jones, she kept secrets Some were cremated. Sam was far from the only person concerned about Jones malicious influence over a loved one. 20 Years Later, Jonestown Survivor Confronts Horrors - SFGATE "They would be taken to the Jonestown well in the dark of night, hung upside down by a rope around their ankles, and dunked into the water again and again while someone hidden inside the well grabbed at them to scare them. 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. believed he could best survive the atomic apocalypse he expected. Ive shared my Guyana story countless times, but its still a challenge to go back and relive those days. We accompanied Assemblyman Ryan to shopping centers and campaign events to pass out pamphlets and speak with voters. Meanwhile, ex-devotees of the Peoples Temple began sharing stories about Jones darker side. Larry Layton, a member of Jim Jones' Peoples Temple - UPI Rep. Ryan and I arranged to meet her. Ryan had gone to Guyana to investigate reports that relatives of his San Francisco-area constituents wre being held against their will. Jury Finds Layton Guilty in '78 Jonestown Murders The "Greeting Committee" promptly confiscated all their clothes and belongings and, most important, their passports. 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. Jones responded by telling them that if any actions were taken to remove John, the entire Jonestown population would commit suicide. She left with her 8-month-old daughter before the massacre. Judge Orders Release of Man Convicted in Guyana Death It felt like a Mack truck had just sped over me. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Mr.. spiritual. The killings occurred shortly before more than 900 followers of Jones died in a mass suicide at Jonestown, a settlement founded by Jones in the remote Guyanese jungle of South America. Jones On the plane to Guyana, Nov. 18, 1978. Increasing numbers of people approached us. Peoples Temple Defectors Feared Layton, Witness Testifies Jones ran the Peoples Temple in San Francisco in the early 1970s. It wasnt unusual for Temple members to be awakened at dawn over the loudspeaker and summoned to the pavilion for one of his increasingly unhinged sermons. Though driven by the kind of underlying insecurity that so often fuels tyrants, Jones appeared to offer hope, redemption, and an idealistic new life. It was an implausible ending for the fiery preacher, who had curried favor among the fashionable elite of the Democratic Party. 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. "We would do what they wanted, either cremation or send the bodies back home. Mr. Layton retired in 1978, at the height of the Jonestown tragedy, and never worked again. In 1978, I went to Guyana on a fact-finding mission. Layton was reportedly found at the scene in possession of the revolver with four rounds in the cylinder and one shell . Personal Reflections. He told you precisely what was on his mind, no matter who you were or whether or not you wanted to hear it. But I refused to spend the rest of my life as a victim of Guyanathere were too many of them. Northern California him -- and later from him as she plotted her escape months before he Laytons first trial ended in a hung jury in 1981, with 11 of the 12 jurors voting to acquit him. 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. At the airport, Temple members who found out she was fleeing implored her not to leave. Larry Layton Obituary (1940 - 2020) - Greeley, CO - Legacy.com Ryan and four other Americans were shot to death at an airstrip as they prepared to leave Jonestown. Hurrying out of bed, Layton would race toward Jones "in my mud-caked boots, past the tin-roofed cabins, past the wooden outdoor showers where we're allowed our two-minute wash at the end of our 11-hour days in the field." Of the more than 900 members of Joness congregation who had moved there, nearly a third were children. "He was so depressed that he was not able to conduct research," Thomas Layton said. "[2] He was critical of Brevard County stopping letters to inmates in 2013. Those who refused were shot; children were injected with poison. [15] The robbers had dropped off jewelry for repairs, and later returned to rob the store. Left-right: Jim Schollaert, Jackie Speier and Congressman Leo Ryan. -- the signal that meant an attack was imminent, an excuse for conducting a suicide drill. "If I hadn't been sent to Georgetown that day (in May)," Deborah Layton says now, "I would have died in Jonestown. Layton and her mother arrived in Jonestown in December 1977. [44][45], "Police hunt clues in Cannes jewelry heist; ex-jewel thief says it was a pro job", "Florida sheriff reintroduces chain gang", "Ex-jewel thief says of Kim K's purloined baubles: 'They're gone. [28], After release he went to Palm Bay, Florida and started LL Research and Consulting and met a business partner. Jones had become increasingly paranoid, convinced that the CIA, the FBI and the media were out to destroy him. It felt as though my mother was standing there and she was saying, Jonestown | History, Facts, Jim Jones, & Survivors | Britannica Lawton was critical of the move, saying that "[c]hain gangs send a bad message about [the US]." I couldnt immediately identify the deafening sound that filled the air. November 18, 1978 But how? "And I thought, if I get hit by a truck, my epitaph will be, 'Jonestown survivor dies on Bay Bridge.' He was met with mostly beaming declarations (1.8-by-1.2-meter) underground enclosure. 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. But doubts were eased by Jones' reassuring "You are the 'It's time to come in and say, 'Goodbye.' He never did.". Then, as a group of men dug the truck out of the mud, we heard a loud commotion from the pavilion. [8][12] At one point, he purchased an Italian pizza restaurant in North Lauderdale, Florida, which he later burned down as part of an insurance fraud. murder-suicide that shocked the world 20 years ago this month. His appearance was part of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. I was almost one of them. Her life appears to be light-years from Peoples Temple. didn't want people to know who I was.". And it wasn't an isolated incident. [3], Lawton was offered a three-year sentence in exchange for disclosing his accomplices but did not take the deal. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? Hundreds of followers moved. A few showers this morning with mostly cloudy conditions during the afternoon hours. at the Seductive Poison - Wikipedia because I was too Jones died of a gunshot wound to the head. He was appointed to the San Francisco Housing ", "I thought, what a waste. Peoples Temple gunman Larry Layton would not testify on his own behalf and opposed an insanity plea . Syringes surround one of the vats used to mix up the position drink used in the mass murder at Jonestown. [15][18], In 1996, there was a robbery of a jeweler in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. 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. I was 28, lying on a dusty airplane runway in the Guyanese jungle, and dying. Breathing heavily, I pulled myself to my feet, stumbled to the planes baggage compartment and took shelter. tradition. I did not recover my old self; bullets render that impossible. 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. Never one to accept second-hand information, he decided to embark on a fact-findingand potentially life-savingtrip. 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. Larry Layton was the only person prosecuted for any of the events in and around Jonestown. We listened as she offered a detailed and disturbing account of her experience. Layton, 35, was scheduled for arraignment today before Magistrate John Caden in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on charges of killing Ryan, D-Calif., who was gunned down on Nov. 18, 1978 by . With Joness wild gaze on us, I tape-recorded affidavits of their wishes to return to the United States. Larry Lawton is the only ex-con in the US to be sworn in as an Honorary Police Officer and the only ex-con to be recognized on the Floor of the United States Congress for helping Young People . We didnt want a group to present a canned response or any individual to look to others for their answers. Robert Bryan, who took over the case after Laytons conviction, said he hopes to win a new trial for Layton. Repeatedly, the defectors mentioned forced participation in mass-suicide rehearsals known as the White Night trials.. I noticed an elderly woman stuffing pieces of bacon into her pockets; the ample spread was just another showpiece. Larry Layton, who posed as a defector, was captured after badly wounding two people inside a plane trying to take off. [10] Afterwards, another jewelry store in Lower Bucks County became suspicious of a person they believed was casing the place for a future robbery. "He didn't feel good about it," his son, Thomas Layton, an anthropology professor at San Jose State University, said yesterday. 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. 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. Lawrence Robert Lawton (born October 3, 1961) is an American ex-convict, author, paralegal, motivational speaker, and YouTuber. 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. 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. The discovery reopened wounds. Enter Larry Layton, who worked at the Jonestown hospital as an X-ray technician. . Family and friends can send flowers and condolences in memory of the loved one. Many of the bodies were decomposed and could not be identified. ordered 912 of his followers to drink cyanide-poisoned punch in the Guyana Find showtimes and movie tickets near you at Megaplex Theatres. If Layton waives his right to a hearing to establish his identity, he will be sent on to San Francisco to face the charges there. [22] Fingerprint evidence connected Lawton to the October 1994 Palm Bay heist, and he was charged with that crime as well. Deborah Layton is now 45, lives in an elegant house in Piedmont and takes her 12-year-old daughter to play in soccer games. jumped out a New York apartment window before Layton was born.). What episode does Luna get Ancient Fairy Dragon? He later became a world expert in the field of human allergies. The suit was later dismissed. of Laytons lawyer said that made Layton more susceptible to Jones spell. 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. Moments later, Congressman Ryan emerged from a throng of people with a torn and bloodied shirt. When did the Jonestown massacre occur? 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. Former People's Temple member Larry Layton, freed from jail Research has shown that the artificial dyes in Kool-Aid may cause hyperactivity in your child. The tumult of the late 60s and early 70s had left masses of people searching for a greater sense of security and purpose. Vernon Gosney and Monica Bagby, it read. The morning after our arrival, Congressman Ryan, Jim Schollaert and I attended a closed-door briefing by Ambassador John Burke and his staff at the U.S. Embassy. "[10], While in prison in 2003, Lawton was sent to solitary confinement for 27 days as punishment. My ribs were broken. Fans on Twitter are criticizing the Georgia football "culture" after recruit Jamaal Jarrett uttered a racist remark during a live stream of the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday.. Jarrett, a four . [35][36] It also hosts an annual bowling tournament. 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. Wed have to make multiple trips in the truck. Many of his papers on this top-secret work are still classified. Layton faces murder conspiracy charges in the November 1978 shootings at a Guyana airstrip in which Rep. Leo Ryan, three newsmen and a temple defector were killed and several . 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. passage; Larry had been told years earlier. It was the final stop for a group that for nearly 10 years had fascinated and, in the end, horrified the Bay Area. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? SAN FRANCISCO . robes, Jones, known as Father to his flock, soon became a San Francisco As the bodies were identified, the military asked about a half-dozen local funeral homes to help the families make arrangements. Among them were George Moscone, who the Peoples Temple played a significant role in electing mayor in 1975, and Harvey Milk, the pioneering openly gay city supervisor, who went so far as to write a letter to President Jimmy Carter extolling Joness work and rebutting charges that he was abusive.