Richard Longworth

For the English churchman and academic, see Richard Longworth (Cambridge).

Richard W. Longworth (January 19, 1968 – April 15, 2005) was a murderer executed by the U.S. state of South Carolina by lethal injection. He was convicted of the murder on January 7, 1991 of Alex Hopps and Todd Greene in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Crime

In the evening of January 7, 1991, Longworth and his friend David Rocheville decided, while driving around in their minivan, to rob the WestGate Mall Cinema in Spartanburg. After entering the theater, Longworth took his handgun from his shoulder holster and gave it to Rocheville, and the two viewed a movie for a short time. The two then proceeded into the lobby to implement their plan to rob the theater of money located in the ticket booth. When they encountered an usher, Alexander George Hopps, 19, walking down the hallway, Longworth knocked Hopps down, jumped on him, held his hand over Hopps' mouth, and dragged him outside of the theater through the side exit. As Longworth pinned Hopps against a waist-high bar that protected the air conditioning unit, Rocheville shot Hopps in the left side of the head. Rocheville then returned the gun to Longworth, who placed it back in his shoulder holster.

To reenter the theater, Longworth and Rocheville walked around to the front of the cinema and found the front doors locked. They motioned to James Todd Greene, 24, a cinema employee to whom they had waved when they initially entered the theater, and Greene opened the door. At that point, Longworth drew his gun and demanded that Greene open the safe in the ticket booth. Longworth took several money bags from the safe and ascertained from Greene that there were more bags in Greene’s automobile, ready for deposit. After retrieving those bags, Longworth and Rocheville forced Greene into their minivan, which Longworth drove. Longworth again handed his gun to Rocheville and instructed him to shoot Greene if he moved. After driving away from the theater, Longworth stopped the vehicle and instructed Greene to get out, walk five paces, get on his knees, and stare straight ahead. At that point, Rocheville shot Greene in the back of the head.

Trial and appeals

Longworth and Rocheville were arrested the next day, after Rocheville had led law enforcement officers to Greene's body. After Longworth was arrested, he provided officers with a detailed statement of the crimes that he and Rocheville had committed. Each was indicted on two counts of murder, one count of kidnapping, and one count of armed robbery. Longworth was convicted and then sentenced to death on September 10, 1991.

Longworth claimed in his appeals that he had inaffective counsel during his trial. His trial represented both Longworth and his parents, which he said resulted in a conflict of interest. Longworth said that his mother's history of domestic violence and alcohol abuse were mitigating circumstances that were withheld from the jury due to this conflict of interest. His mother had requested the information be kept secret as she would have lost her position as a foster parent.

Execution

He was pronounced dead on April 15, 2005 at 6:14 p.m. after being executed by lethal injection at the Broad River Correctional Facility. It was the 958th execution in the United States since the Gregg v. Georgia decision in 1976. His accomplice, David Rocheville, had been executed more than five years earlier, on December 3, 1999

For his last meal he had a hamburger, french fries and chocolate milkshake.

In his final statement, which was read by his lawyer, he said that he could not ask for forgiveness from the families of the murder victims, knowing it would not be granted. He also said:

"I am morally and legally responsible for what happened. I hope they also know how deeply, truly sorry I am for what I have done. I hope my death brings them the peace they deserve. … I hope my family knows how much I love them, and how ashamed I am that I have tarnished their name. For the last 14 years I have tried to live my life as cleanly and as honorably as I was raised."

See also

References

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