March 20, 2025

Part Three | The Executions Commence: Larry Roy

This episode examines Larry Roy, the Cheneyville Slasher, and the 1993 attack on the Richard family.

Timestamps
04:00 The Horrific Crime Unfolds
08:25 The Investigation Begins
13:15 The Manhunt for Larry Roy
16:44 Trial and Defense Tactics
18:34 The...

Show Notes
Transcript

For Louisiana Local Advertising inquiries or to book appearances please email BloodyAngola@gmail.com

WEBVTT

1
00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:17.519
M I Wall Street line.

2
00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:29.399
Shackle change, Oh gesome girdie, it's calling my name. There

3
00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:36.640
is no mercy and it's been a tentery juice as

4
00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:41.200
the huge stream game Wrangle three.

5
00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:52.880
I'm here be by mere to die inside these walls,

6
00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:59.479
inside the wild and when the girls.

7
00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:33.840
I Hey everyone, and welcome back to Bloody Angola, a

8
00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:37.719
podcast one forty two years in the making, the complete

9
00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:42.840
story of America's bloodiest person. I'm Jim Chapman, and we

10
00:01:43.079 --> 00:01:49.439
are back with this third installment in the Executions Commenced series,

11
00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:53.359
and this one is all about the death warrant signed

12
00:01:53.519 --> 00:02:00.760
for Larry Roy, known as the Cheneyville Slasher. So, as

13
00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:04.480
I've been doing with prior episodes in this series, I'm

14
00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:08.280
going to bring you into the crime, the conviction, all

15
00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:12.000
the way up to present day, and with this one,

16
00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:17.120
we're going to start in Cheneyville, Louisiana, and y'all, Cheneyville

17
00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:21.080
is in what is known as Rapids Parish, located kind

18
00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:23.960
of in the center of the state of Louisiana. And

19
00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:29.960
Cheneyville is an extremely small town, less than five hundred residents,

20
00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:34.000
the type of place where everybody knows everybody right and

21
00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:38.080
when the crime I'm about to tell you about occurred.

22
00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:43.039
It shocked the entire community. It just did not happen

23
00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:46.639
in Cheneyville. And we're going to go back to the

24
00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:50.919
early morning hours of May Sewi of nineteen ninety three,

25
00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:53.840
and a call comes in to a nine to one

26
00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:57.680
one call center. This is at one thirty am. The

27
00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:02.080
caller stated that her neighbor, thirty one year old Sally

28
00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:07.400
Ann Reeshard, had stumbled over to her house bleeding from

29
00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:11.800
a gash in her throat, with her hands bound behind

30
00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:16.039
her back, and that the woman needed medical assistance right away.

31
00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:18.960
So the police chief, a guy by the name of

32
00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:22.840
Archie Blue, he was on patrol, and yep, in a

33
00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:27.240
town this size, the chief of police was patrolling just

34
00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:31.599
like everyone else. They didn't exactly have a large police department.

35
00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:35.199
So the chief takes the call and he heads towards

36
00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:39.400
the address, and what he saw when he pulled up

37
00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:45.240
to that home was shocking. When Chief Blue pulled up

38
00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:48.680
to the house, his lights caught an eight year old

39
00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:55.319
named Frederick Reeschard outside lying in his own blood near

40
00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:58.159
a lightpole in the front yard, and he was near

41
00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:03.479
death and unable to speak. Blue recalled saying to himself quote,

42
00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:09.000
oh my god, that boy is cut to death. Unquote.

43
00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:13.240
He could see that the boy was extremely weak. He

44
00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:16.879
also noticed the family dog who was tied up near

45
00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:21.319
where little Frederick's body lay in that front yard, and

46
00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.879
the dog appeared unalarmed. So although this eight year old

47
00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:29.079
was in dire straits, he was still alive and Chief

48
00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:32.480
Blue he turns around to rush back to his patrol car.

49
00:04:32.600 --> 00:04:35.360
He was going to make a plea for the ambulances

50
00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:38.279
to kind of double time it to the scene, and

51
00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:43.279
as he did, he hears ten year old David Reshard

52
00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:47.480
fall down near what turned out to be his mother's vehicle,

53
00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:52.160
which was also parked in the front yard. Now David,

54
00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:56.680
much like his brother, was also too weak to speak,

55
00:04:57.079 --> 00:05:00.000
but after a second officer who had arrived on the scene,

56
00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.480
unbound his hands, the boy was able to hold up

57
00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:09.240
two fingers and motion them towards the house, which indicated

58
00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:14.319
to these officers that two more people were inside that home.

59
00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:17.920
So quickly, at this point, you already have thirty one

60
00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:22.160
year old Sally Reshord Throat slashed clinging to life, eight

61
00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:26.600
year old Frederick Throat slashed clinging to life, and ten

62
00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:31.959
year old David also slashed clinging to life. So the

63
00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.160
officers they approached the home very cautiously, they didn't know

64
00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:41.000
if this monster was still inside. Once inside the home,

65
00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:46.319
they see what can only be described as an absolutely

66
00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:52.120
horrific site. Sitting on the edge of the bed in

67
00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:56.639
a bedroom was thirty three year old Freddie Reeshard Junior,

68
00:05:56.839 --> 00:06:00.279
who was the two boys father in the ex husband

69
00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:04.199
of Sally m Reshoard. His upper body was slumped forward

70
00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:10.199
between his legs and he had been stabbed seven times,

71
00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:14.560
at least that the officers could clearly see. One stab

72
00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:20.399
womb was wide across his throat from ear to ear.

73
00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:24.240
As they canvassed the house, they came across another bedroom

74
00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:28.639
and found Sally in reshards On seventy five year old

75
00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:33.759
Rosetta Silas deceased. She was lying face down in her

76
00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:37.800
bed in her night clothes, with her throat slept from

77
00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:41.199
ear to ear. So police at this point they have

78
00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:47.680
two dead inside the house and three seriously injured outside

79
00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:52.120
of the house, with two of them being children, and

80
00:06:52.199 --> 00:06:56.480
they moved quick to get all of these victims that

81
00:06:56.560 --> 00:07:00.279
were still alive to the hospital. Now miss Sallyenne she

82
00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:03.879
was able to tell police who was responsible for this

83
00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:08.199
and what happened, and the responsible party was none other

84
00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:12.639
than Larry Roy. Now let me tell you a little

85
00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:17.120
bit about Larry Roy and his relationship to this family.

86
00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:21.920
Larry was the ex boyfriend of Sally m. Reshard. Sally

87
00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:26.839
started dating Larry after her and her husband, Freddie Reeschard Junior,

88
00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:30.399
had divorced, and Larry moved in with Sally and her

89
00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:34.519
kids and her aunt in the family home in Cheneyville.

90
00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:40.519
But they had a rocky relationship and that eventually led

91
00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:43.720
to them breaking things off. And this was in January

92
00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:48.240
of nineteen ninety three. Now, at that point, Sally and

93
00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:52.439
her ex husband they kind of started rekindling their relationship.

94
00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:58.079
They started a reconciliation and Freddie Reshard Junior moved back

95
00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:02.959
in to that family home. Well, Larry did not like

96
00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:08.160
that at all. He starts threatening Sally Anne with guns

97
00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:11.480
to the point that she even filed a complaint with police.

98
00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:14.800
And over the next few months prior to this incident,

99
00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:20.240
his harassment would worsen. Shortly before the attacks of May third,

100
00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:23.279
nineteen ninety three, Sally awoke to go to work one

101
00:08:23.319 --> 00:08:27.319
morning and her tires were slashed. She files yet another

102
00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:31.279
complaint with police, but there was just no evidence to

103
00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:35.399
link Larry Roy to that tire slashing. So it was

104
00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:40.519
on May second of nineteen ninety three that, by chance,

105
00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:45.879
while at a local convenience store, the entire family encounters

106
00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:49.440
Larry Roy, and it was at that point that he

107
00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:54.840
walks by Sally Ann and says, quote, things are going

108
00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:58.960
to go down tonight. Later that evening, the ree shards

109
00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:02.519
they retire, and as they always did, they slept in

110
00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:05.679
the same room, Mom and Dad in the bed and

111
00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:09.360
the two young boys in sleeping bags on the floor

112
00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:13.080
of that bedroom. On Monday, May third, at approximately one

113
00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:17.480
thirty am, Larry Roy barges into the bedroom and he

114
00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:21.960
awakes the family out of a dead sleep. Larry Roy

115
00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:26.960
jumps on top of Freddy Rieshard Junior in a fight ensues.

116
00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:31.440
During this time, Sally in she grabs the bedside telephone

117
00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:35.320
to call nine to one one. However, as she picks

118
00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:39.240
up the phone, Roy informs her that he cut the

119
00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:43.320
phone wires and this yaw was well before cell phones.

120
00:09:43.639 --> 00:09:47.919
It's also at this time that Sally Anne realizes that

121
00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:54.159
Freddy Reshard Junior has been stabbed to death as he's

122
00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:58.759
perched on the front of the bed. Miss Reeshard jumps

123
00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:02.440
up and attempts to flee with the children, but Roy

124
00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:05.559
stops her, and he's still armed with that knife, and

125
00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:09.000
he forces the two children to lay down on the

126
00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:13.759
floor in the hallway. Then at knife point, he forces

127
00:10:13.799 --> 00:10:17.320
sally Anne to go into her aunt's bedroom. They awaken

128
00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:21.720
seventy five year old Miss Silas and he demands money.

129
00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:26.159
Miss Silas gives him fifty dollars that she kept hidden

130
00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:31.120
under her mattress. And typically elderly people, especially back then,

131
00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:34.600
they would hide cash in their house and usually it's

132
00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:37.759
under that mattress. Right, Roy counts the money and he

133
00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:42.159
starts questioning Miss Silas as to if any more money

134
00:10:42.519 --> 00:10:45.960
was hidden anywhere else in the house, to which Miss

135
00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:50.360
Silas tells him no. Next, Larry Roy brings Sally Anne

136
00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:54.240
into the kitchen of that home and he starts asking

137
00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:58.960
her why she reported to police that he slashed her tires.

138
00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:02.559
He then brings her into the living room where he

139
00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:06.919
places her face down on the floor beside the sofa,

140
00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:11.559
and using a telephone cord that he brought with him,

141
00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:16.200
he ties her hands behind her back. He pulls her

142
00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:22.320
head back and slits her throat, telling her in her

143
00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:26.159
ear while he's doing that quote. By the time the

144
00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:29.759
police get here, y'all are all going to be dead.

145
00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:33.720
Larry Roy then goes into the hallway and he ties

146
00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:39.559
eight year old Frederick's hands behind his back and he

147
00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:45.840
slits his throat. He then takes a pillow case and

148
00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:50.799
he places it over ten year old David's head, ties

149
00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:57.120
David's hands behind his back, pulls David's head back, and

150
00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:05.759
slits his throat. Then he heads again into seventy five

151
00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:11.600
year old Miss Silas's bedroom. Now during the time that

152
00:12:11.720 --> 00:12:16.399
he's going in that bedroom, both Sally Anne and her

153
00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:21.120
two sons struggled, but made their way outside the home,

154
00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:25.879
hands still tied behind their backs. Sally Amne would later

155
00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:28.639
say that as she got out of the front door,

156
00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:33.720
she could hear seventy five year old Miss Rosetta Silas

157
00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:42.000
screaming after Roy began stabbing her to death. So, after

158
00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:47.120
learning this information, police had a problem. They had no

159
00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:53.000
idea where Larry Roy was. By the time they arrived

160
00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:56.200
on the scene, he was nowhere to be found. And

161
00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:59.799
when all of this hit the paper that Tuesday May,

162
00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:07.159
Larry Roy was already dubbed the Cheneyville slasher and police

163
00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:11.000
started a massive manhunt for this guy, who was wanted

164
00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:14.559
for the murder of two in the attempted murder of three,

165
00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:18.600
including two children. They knew Larry Roy had a lot

166
00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:22.320
of family and was very familiar with a Boyle's Parish,

167
00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:27.000
which was a neighboring parish to Rapids, and they focused

168
00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:31.360
the search there. Now, A Boyle's Parish created somewhat of

169
00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:36.200
a challenge for police boils at that time was very rural,

170
00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:40.879
very wooded part of Louisiana, and there are a lot

171
00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:46.080
of places in which to hide. But luck would strike

172
00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:49.840
when a relative of Larry Roy's who lived in a

173
00:13:50.039 --> 00:13:55.440
wooded area near a highway in the parish, reported Roy

174
00:13:55.600 --> 00:14:00.200
was hanging out around her home. Police started searching the

175
00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:05.279
area until about lunchtime on May fourth, realizing that Roy

176
00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:08.879
likely was only going to be moving at night and

177
00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:14.080
was probably hidden out of sight, so at sundown police

178
00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:18.600
began that extensive search again, and they incorporated the use

179
00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:24.639
of bloodhounds helicopters. Several agencies took place in this search,

180
00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:30.559
knowing the sheer horror of the crime that Larry Roy committed. Now,

181
00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:34.759
this was before drones, unfortunately, so no drones were out

182
00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:38.679
Roy was described in local papers as wearing a white

183
00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:42.480
jumpsuit with black tennis shoes. For people to be on

184
00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:47.879
the lookout for this obviously dangerous individual, and it was

185
00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:52.360
two days later, on the fifth of May twenty twenty three,

186
00:14:52.679 --> 00:14:56.240
that Larry Roy was caught. He was spotted by a

187
00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:02.159
sheriff's deputy in a small town called Bunkie, Louisiana. So

188
00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:06.600
when the officer spotted him, Larry Roy actually jumped into

189
00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:10.360
a parked car at an intersection. The detective a guy

190
00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:13.279
by the name of Byron Juno. He was a four

191
00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:16.879
year veteran of Thevoyl's Parish Sheriff's office and he was

192
00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:22.000
working overtime that night like everybody else, hunting for Larry Roy.

193
00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:26.039
When at twelve thirty am he was patrolling the streets

194
00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:30.440
of Bunkie looking specifically for a man fitting Roy's description.

195
00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:35.200
A group of males flags him down and said they

196
00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:40.679
just saw the Chameyville slasher walk by. Now. As soon

197
00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:44.639
as they said that, there was Roy running across the

198
00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:48.879
intersection away from him, Larry Roy pulls on the car

199
00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:52.919
handle of basically the first car he sees and slides

200
00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:59.000
into the passenger seat and behind the wheel by sheer coincidence,

201
00:15:59.799 --> 00:16:05.279
is Larry Roy's cousin. So the officer approaches and Roy

202
00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:08.279
tries to slump down in the car to hide, but

203
00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:11.320
it was way too late for that. The officer pulls

204
00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:14.519
him out and asks his name, to which Larry Roy

205
00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:21.960
replied Lawrence Smith. But everyone around the scene started telling

206
00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.840
the officer that was bullshit, that that was in fact

207
00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.879
Larry Roy. So the officer turns to the man and says,

208
00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:32.320
I'm going to ask you one more time, what's your name?

209
00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:36.879
And Larry Roy is quoted as saying, you got me.

210
00:16:37.399 --> 00:16:40.960
I'm Larry Roy. Now, at the time that he was caught,

211
00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:46.039
Roy was unarmed and he did not resist, so he

212
00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:50.159
is arrested and eventually this case goes to trial. It

213
00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:53.320
took quite a while to even get to the trial point,

214
00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:57.679
and Roy in the trial, he attempts to use what's

215
00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:02.000
done as an intoxication defense. He actually testifies on his

216
00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:06.319
own behalf and he said that at approximately five o'clock

217
00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:10.759
PM on May second of nineteen ninety three, he consumed

218
00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:15.839
several beers and a half pint of gin. He then said,

219
00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:19.519
at some time during that evening, he purchases one hundred

220
00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:25.279
and forty dollars worth of crack cocaine, which he smoked

221
00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:29.599
prior to the attacks. According to his account, he claimed

222
00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:33.440
that because he was intoxicated and also in a drug state,

223
00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:38.480
he could not remember his whereabouts or his activities that

224
00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:46.960
entire evening. Nonetheless, he denied killing or harming anyone. Now,

225
00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:52.039
of course, that was total bs. In the jury, they

226
00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:57.599
weren't buying it, and they find Larry Roy guilty of

227
00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:02.200
two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of

228
00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:08.400
Miss Silas in the death of Freddy Reeschard Junior, and

229
00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:14.039
on August thirtieth of nineteen ninety four, Larry Roy is

230
00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:20.640
sentenced to death by a unanimous jury. And it's at

231
00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:26.640
this point that, as you already know, the appeals start

232
00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:31.119
and Roy goes through years and years of appealing this

233
00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:36.960
with every fiber of his being. Eventually he exhausts all

234
00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:42.960
of those appeals, and because of the Death Rose situation

235
00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:47.839
in Louisiana, in the fact that it went on a

236
00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:51.880
hiatus for like fifteen years, just all these things I've

237
00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:56.359
told you about in other episodes, he would sit on

238
00:18:56.559 --> 00:19:01.559
death row for the next thirty one years before getting

239
00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:07.599
an official signed death warrant in February of this year. Now,

240
00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:12.079
in the meantime he even sought pardons, and in November

241
00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:16.920
of twenty twenty three, two of the surviving members of

242
00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:20.920
this terrible event, they even testified at a Board of

243
00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:27.279
Pardon hearing against Larry Roy getting off death row, and

244
00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:33.160
he was denied clemency in that hearing. So, as I mentioned,

245
00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:37.039
on February tenth of twenty twenty five, the Rapides Parish

246
00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:40.480
District attorney, guy by the name of Philip Tarrell, he

247
00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:44.319
obtained that death warrant for Larry Roy. And I have

248
00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:47.039
a copy of that and I'll just read it to

249
00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:53.519
you quickly, and it's dated February tenth, twenty twenty five,

250
00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:57.400
and the cover letter says today Governor Jeff Landry announced

251
00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:01.440
that the Louisiana Department of Corrections has implicated a protocol

252
00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:05.519
for carrying out sentences for defendants on death row. The

253
00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:09.200
promises made by jurys and the justice system to the

254
00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:12.759
victims of the most heinous of crimes has been withheld

255
00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:17.440
for too long. Consequently, my office has prepared and filed

256
00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:19.920
a death warrant in the matter of the State of

257
00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:26.480
Louisiana versus Larry Roy and its signed Philip Terrell, District Attorney,

258
00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:29.480
and it goes on to say motion to cause the

259
00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:33.759
issuance of execution. Warrant says now into the court through

260
00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:37.160
the undersigned Assistant District Attorney comes to State of Louisiana,

261
00:20:37.240 --> 00:20:40.799
moving the court as follows. The defendant was indicted for

262
00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:44.279
two counts of first degree murder on July second, nineteen

263
00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:48.039
ninety three. Roy was tried by jury for those crimes

264
00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:51.119
in nineteen ninety four, and the jury returned a verdict

265
00:20:51.160 --> 00:20:54.920
of guiltiest charge on both counts on July nineteenth of

266
00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:58.279
nineteen ninety four, and returned to death sentence on July

267
00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:01.680
twenty first of nineteen ninety one. This court accepted the

268
00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:06.000
recommendation and imposed the sentence. On August thirtieth of nineteen

269
00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:09.839
ninety four. The defendant filed an appeal with the Louisiana

270
00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:13.920
Supreme Court. The state responded and the convictions and sentences

271
00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:18.279
were affirmed. The defendant filed an application for a rehearing,

272
00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:23.000
which was denied on November fifteenth of nineteen ninety six.

273
00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:27.039
The rulings of the Louisiana Supreme Court were reviewed by

274
00:21:27.079 --> 00:21:30.039
the United States Supreme Court, and the US Supreme Court

275
00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:34.559
declined to review the rulings, effectively affirming the decisions based

276
00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:39.720
on the Louisiana Supreme Court. On August seventeenth, nineteen ninety seven,

277
00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:43.759
a death warrant issued with an execution day. October twenty second,

278
00:21:43.880 --> 00:21:48.240
nineteen ninety seven. That death warrant was recalled and reissued

279
00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:52.720
on September sixteenth of nineteen ninety seven. All post conviction

280
00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:55.880
pleadings have been resolved in favor of the state. The

281
00:21:55.920 --> 00:21:59.559
defendant made an application for clemency to the Louisiana Bord

282
00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:03.039
of Pardon, which was denied on November eighth of twenty

283
00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:07.160
twenty three. At present time, no warrant of execution has

284
00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:11.200
been signed setting the date of the defendant's execution. There

285
00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:14.960
are no other outstanding applications for relief or stays of

286
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:18.920
execution in this matter. So that was the motion. And

287
00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:22.240
then you have what's known as a warrant of execution.

288
00:22:22.440 --> 00:22:24.480
And if you never heard how these read, it just

289
00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:28.279
says it is hereby ordered that, in accordance with provisions

290
00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:31.519
and at lists those in the manner provided by law,

291
00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:35.079
said condemned person to be put to death on nineteenth

292
00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:38.839
day of March twenty twenty five, between six pm and

293
00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:41.519
nine pm. It is further ordered that the Clerk of

294
00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:44.799
Court shall forward to the Secretary of the Department of

295
00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:47.759
Public Safety and Corrections of the State of Louisiana a

296
00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:51.680
certified copy of the indictment, verdict sentence, as well as

297
00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:56.440
the decision of the Louisiana Supreme Court affirming the sentence

298
00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:59.880
of death for Larry Roy. It is further ordered that

299
00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:04.079
upon receipt of this warrant of execution, the Secretary of

300
00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:07.559
Public Safety and Corrections of the State of Louisiana shall

301
00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:10.759
provide a copy of the warrant and deliver it to

302
00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:14.359
the condemned person, Larry Roy. It is further ordered that

303
00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:17.279
a certified copy of this warrant of execution shall be

304
00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:21.079
transmitted by the Clerk of this Court to the Honorable

305
00:23:21.160 --> 00:23:23.920
Jeff Landry, Governor of the State of Louisiana, and the

306
00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:29.799
former manner directed by Alyssa's Statute, Philip Arrell, ninth Judicial

307
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:35.519
District Attorney, and to Blithe Talping, Council of Record for

308
00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:40.920
Larry Roy. So that is the official warrant of execution.

309
00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:45.759
So that's right on March nineteenth, of twenty twenty five.

310
00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:51.119
Larry Roy is going to be executed. But wait, not

311
00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:56.200
so fast. March nineteenth has already passed, and I'm not

312
00:23:56.279 --> 00:24:02.359
told you anything about the actual execution. Why because it

313
00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:08.440
didn't happen. On March eleventh, a Judicial Court district judge

314
00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:14.319
by the name of Chris Hazel pushed back Larry Roy's execution,

315
00:24:14.519 --> 00:24:17.880
denying the motion until a hearing can take place. And

316
00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:21.480
this is scheduled for April fourteenth of twenty twenty five

317
00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:26.119
in the ninth JBC. And this comes on the heels

318
00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:31.519
of Jesse Hoffman's execution being blocked by US Chief District

319
00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:35.480
Judge Shelley Dick. And I brought you his case in

320
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:38.839
part one of this series. That judge found the method

321
00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:44.559
of execution to be inhumane. But you know what's inhumane

322
00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:48.440
to me? And I get it if you don't like it,

323
00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:51.599
but it's how I personally feel. And that's the fact

324
00:24:51.640 --> 00:24:54.880
that the victims of these crimes that get these guys

325
00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.920
sentenced to the ultimate penalty are always the last peep

326
00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:04.119
to be considered. You're sentenced to death by jury of

327
00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:10.119
your peers, unanimously, and yet judges seem to consistently block

328
00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:15.119
the will of the people, and this, in my opinion,

329
00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:19.680
has to stop. And guess what, we just got an

330
00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:25.400
update on Jesse Hoffman. Now, look, as soon as I

331
00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:29.200
recorded this series, of course, I record these. A couple

332
00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:34.599
of days early, I get a text from WAFB dot

333
00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:41.039
com and it appears that Jesse Hoffman's execution is now

334
00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:45.160
on as scheduled. I'm gonna read you this quick article.

335
00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:45.680
Dis or.

336
00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:52.559
Judge dissolves restraining order tied to Hoffman's execution. At this point,

337
00:25:52.680 --> 00:25:56.640
the execution is back on schedule unless another court, including

338
00:25:56.680 --> 00:26:02.079
the US Supreme Court, decides to intervene. Teteenth JDC Judge

339
00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:06.960
Richard Chipmore issued the restraining order Monday until he could

340
00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:11.319
preside over the hearing Tuesday morning. Regarding whether the method

341
00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:15.839
of execution being planned violates Hoffman's religious freedoms under the

342
00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:20.400
Preservation of Religious Freedom Act, Moore cited with the Louisiana

343
00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:24.000
Department of Corrections. The state says it will execute Hoffman

344
00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:28.920
using nitrogen hypoxia, which is the deprivation of oxygen through

345
00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:33.799
the inhalation of nitrogen. Hoffman claims that nitrogen hypoxia would

346
00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:37.400
interfere with his religious right for him to do meditative

347
00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:41.160
breathing as he is being put to death. Hoffman was

348
00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:44.599
sentenced to death by lethal injection in nineteen ninety eight

349
00:26:44.599 --> 00:26:48.039
for the murder of Mary Molly Elliott in Saint Tammany

350
00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:52.079
Parish that happened in nineteen ninety six, and of course

351
00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:57.039
that was the first episode in this series. Hoffman kidnapped

352
00:26:57.079 --> 00:26:59.759
Elliott as she was leaving her New Orleans home to

353
00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:01.880
give to meet her husband for dinner. She was then

354
00:27:02.039 --> 00:27:05.640
raped and killed. The planned execution of Hoffman would be

355
00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:09.200
Louisiana's first in fifteen years in the state's first time

356
00:27:09.240 --> 00:27:13.640
to carry out an execution using nitrogen. So as of now,

357
00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:18.000
apparently it's back on. Of course, the last seventy two

358
00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:22.119
hours of this stuff, things change left and right, so

359
00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:26.319
I'll keep you posted. But because my Patreon members get

360
00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:29.000
these episodes early, I won't be able to edit this

361
00:27:29.160 --> 00:27:32.119
anymore than it has been done now, so I'll give

362
00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:36.240
you an update next week on what occurred with that execution,

363
00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:41.279
and now I guess back to our scheduled programming. Now.

364
00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:45.079
Since I started this series, many people have messaged me

365
00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:48.640
and they've wanted me to provide more details on the

366
00:27:48.680 --> 00:27:53.799
method of execution, specifically nitrogen hypoxia, which I can tell

367
00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:57.440
you one hundred percent the death row inmates here are

368
00:27:57.480 --> 00:28:03.440
scared shitless about and I ain't mad about that. I'm

369
00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:07.200
glad they're a little bit scared. Honestly. When I was

370
00:28:07.319 --> 00:28:11.759
researching this method, I came across a very well written

371
00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:16.000
article from CBS News that explains it. And I'm gonna

372
00:28:16.039 --> 00:28:18.880
read that article for you now because it really gives

373
00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:23.160
you what I feel is the best account of explaining

374
00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:28.279
this method. And the headline reads, what is nitrogen hypoxia?

375
00:28:28.680 --> 00:28:34.759
Alabama's Kenneth Smith execution proceeds with unprecedented controversial method. A

376
00:28:34.839 --> 00:28:39.000
death row inmate in Alabama, Kenneth Eugene Smith, was executed

377
00:28:39.079 --> 00:28:42.359
Thursday night by nitrogen hypoxia, and this was written a

378
00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:46.279
couple of months ago, a controversial and untested method that

379
00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:50.279
has prompted legal pushback and public scrutiny from critics within

380
00:28:50.359 --> 00:28:54.359
the United States and abroad. Smith became the first inmate

381
00:28:54.480 --> 00:28:57.400
to die this way. He was convicted in the nineteen

382
00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:00.400
eighty eight killing of a pastor's wife as part of

383
00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:04.119
a murder for higher scheme, and has been imprisoned for decades.

384
00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:08.759
In Alabama. He already survived a botched lethal injection in

385
00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:12.640
November of twenty twenty two, one of four in Alabama

386
00:29:12.680 --> 00:29:15.960
since twenty eighteen, which was the same year the state

387
00:29:16.119 --> 00:29:20.400
authorized the use of nitrogen hypoxia in the death chamber.

388
00:29:20.599 --> 00:29:24.200
It is among three states, along with Oklahoma and Mississippi,

389
00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:27.599
that technically permit the method as an alternative in the

390
00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:31.440
death chamber, since lethal injections in recent years have been

391
00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:34.599
come harder to get, and of course you can add

392
00:29:34.759 --> 00:29:39.240
Louisiana to that list now. Before Thursday, no execution had

393
00:29:39.319 --> 00:29:42.519
ever been carried out in the United States using this method,

394
00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:47.200
and experts have repeatedly warned that nitrogen toxicity may cause

395
00:29:47.319 --> 00:29:50.480
the condemned person to suffer unnecessarily, while at the same

396
00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:53.519