OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Activities are in preparation for military service members and their families as the Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OKCMOA) in collaboration with the United Service Organizations (USO) kick off Military Appreciation Day on Friday, July 12.

This inaugural event is anticipated to provide a day where service members and their families can experience all the Museum has to offer free of charge.

“We’re very excited to collaborate with the USO on this endeavor,” said OKCMOA President and CEO Michael Anderson, PhD. “Our military service members and their families are an important part of our community, and it’s an honor to share the Museum with them in this way.”

The scheduled programming will be as follows:

Painting Classes 

10:30 am-12 pm and 2-3:30 pm | Exclusive to military service members and their adult guests 

Participate in a painting class led by an OKCMOA teaching artist. Limited to 20 registrants per session. Questions? Email usooklahoma@uso.org 

Card-Making Station 

11 am-4 pm | Open to the public 

As part of our commitment to fostering a sense of community, visitors to the Museum will have the meaningful opportunity to create “thank you for your service” cards. These heartfelt messages will be sent to our brave service members who are deployed overseas, allowing our visitors to directly contribute to their well-being and show their support.  

Drop-In Gallery Tours 

11 am, 1 pm, 2 pm, and 3 pm | Exclusive to military service members and their families 

Participate in a guided tour of OKCMOA’s world-famous Chihuly glass collection. Offered at the top of the hour at 11 am, 1 pm, 2 pm, and 3 pm. No registration required.  

Oath of Service Ceremony 

12 pm | Open to the public 

In coordination with the USO, Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS), and Recruiting Command, OKCMOA will host an Oath of Service ceremony in front of the Museum at Carolyn Hill Park. Immediately following the ceremony, new recruits and their families will be invited to stay for an informal lunch in the Museum.  

Military Kids Art Exhibition  

On View July 12-14 | Open to the public 

OKCMOA invites all participants in the annual USO Craft Camp to visit the Museum to see their art on display. OKCMOA is pleased to host a punch and cookies reception for the artists and their families. (Reception time to be announced.) 

For more information, please visit okcmoa.com or contact OKCMOA’s Head of Education Bryon Chambers at bchambers@okcmoa.com. 

Rojem was convicted in 1985 of kidnapping, raping and murdering his former stepdaughter, 7-year-old Layla Cummings. His execution Thursday follows that of Ramiro Gonzales in Texas on Wednesday

Richard Rojem Jr. is set to be executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma on Thursday for the rape and murder of his 7-year-old former stepdaughter. If it goes forward, the execution will be the nation’s second in as many days.

Rojem, 66, was convicted in 1985 of raping and stabbing 7-year-old Layla Dawn Cummings to death. Her brutalized body was left in a field and found by a farmer; she was still wearing her mom’s nightgown.

“Everything she might have been was stolen from her one horrific night,” Layla’s mother, Mindy Cummings, told the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board this month. “She never got to be more than the precious 7-year-old that she was. And so she remains in our hearts − forever 7.”

Rojem has always maintained his innocence, telling the board on June 17: “I did not kidnap Layla. I did not rape Layla. And I did not murder Layla.”

The board rejected his clemency request. His execution will be the state’s second of the year and the nation’s ninth.

Here’s what we know ahead of the execution.

What is Richard Rojem convicted of?

Layla was abducted from an apartment in Elk City, Oklahoma, where she lived with her mother and 9-year-old brother, on July 6, 1984, Oklahoma state court documents say. The children’s mother and Rojem’s ex-wife, Mindy Cummings, had left them alone to work a late shift at a local fast-food restaurant.

The child’s body was found the next morning in a field 15 miles from her home by a farm in Burns Flat. the appellate court records say.

Rojem and Mindy Cummings had only been divorced for two months before Layla’s murder. The two met while Rojem was serving time in a Michigan prison for the rape of two teenage girls; Cummings was the sister of Rojem’s cellmate, according to court records.

The then-26-year-old Rojem knew Cummings’ work schedule and that the lock to her apartment door was broken, according to the court filings.

Rojem was found guilty on May 31, 1985 and sentenced to death.

Has Richard Rojem appealed?

Rojem appealed his death sentence multiple times until he exhausted his attempts in 2017, Oklahoma court records show. He did win two appeals as his initial and second death sentences were thrown out in 2001 and 2006 due to problems with the jury in both instances.

A jury sentenced him to death again in 2007, and he did not win anymore appeals afterward.

Rojem’s final attempt to remain on death row for the rest of his life was on June 17 during a clemency hearing. During the hearing, Rojem maintained that he did not murder Layla and he apologized for his past, which included the rape of two teenage girls.

“I wasn’t a good human being for the first part of my life, and I don’t deny that,” a handcuffed Rojem said during the hearing. “But I went to prison. I learned my lesson and I left all that behind.”

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denied Rojem clemency.

When will Richard Rojem be executed?

Rojem is scheduled to be executed at 10 a.m. CT at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, 90 miles south of Tulsa.

Oklahoma executions are scheduled 90 days apart due to the “emotional and mental trauma on correctional staff,” Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a May news release. The execution interval was previously 60 days, he added.

How will Richard Rojem be executed?

Rojem will be executed with a three-drug lethal injection containing midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride, according to Oklahoma execution protocols.

Midazolam is a sedative that is normally administered to help patients feel relaxed before surgery, vecuronium bromide is peripherally used as part of general anesthesia and potassium chloride is a medication for low blood potassium. The combination of the drugs the prison is using is fatal.

Who will witness the execution?

The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office told USA TODAY that the “witness list is confidential for security reasons.”

While unclear who will be in the execution room, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester does provide a place to view for people 18 or older who are immediate family of any deceased victim of the defendant, according to state statutes.

Rojem’s attorney, Jack Fisher, told USA TODAY that he would be attending his client’s execution on Thursday.

Among the select members of the news media who will witness the execution is reporter Nolan Clay of The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network.

What will be Richard Rojem’s final meal?

According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Rojem’s final meal will consist of:

• A small Little Caeser’s pizza – double cheese/double pepperoni
• Eight salt packets
• Eight crushed red pepper packets.
• Vernors Ginger Ale, bottled.
• Four ounces of vanilla ice cream cups

On Wednesday, Kilgore College (TX) linebacker Chris Robinson announced his commitment to Oklahoma State.

Robinson’s pledge comes 16 days after the Rangers’ standout took a visit to Stillwater and picked up an offer from Bryan Nardo and company. Prior to his trip to Stillwater, Robinson visited the Cougars and new head coach Willie Fritz.

After seeing OSU, however, the the Cowboys were able to get a commitment from Robinson on Wednesday.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, Robinson played one season at Kilgore College, tallying 38 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in 11 games, helping lead the Rangers to a 9-2 record and a Southwest Junior College Football Conference championship.

Robinson’s efforts resulted in the star freshman earning offers from Missouri State, Eastern Kentucky, Texas Tech, New Mexico, Houston and Oklahoma State.

Before attending Kilgore College, Robinson played at Harker Heights (TX), a high school 55 miles southwest of Waco. Harker Heights is also just five miles from Killeen, TX, the home of Cowboys’ 2025 tight end commit Isaiah Butler-Tanner, who commented on Robinson’s pledge.

For Joe Bob Clements, the addition of Robinson gives the Pokes’ linebacker room great depth heading into the 2024 season. With talented linebacker duo Nick Martin and Collin Oliver both back in Stillwater after impressive performances in 2023, inserting Robinson into the rotation will only make the position group better.

In addition to Robinson, Oklahoma State also adds 3-star Melissa (TX) linebacker Gunnar Wilson to its roster ahead of the 2024 season.

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