Layton Trial Goes to Jury

The second trial of former Peoples Temple member Larry Layton was sent today to a federal court jury that heard conflicting versions of Layton’s role--as a vital cog in a murder conspiracy, or a lone and deluded actor who is being made a scapegoat.

Jurors were told to begin deliberations after 90 minutes of instructions by Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Peckham. Prosecution and defense lawyers had disagreed sharply about whether Layton’s actions in shooting two fleeing temple defectors made him legally responsible for the murder of Rep. Leo Ryan and the wounding of a U.S. diplomat who were shot by others on a jungle airstrip in Guyana eight years ago.