Roger Lynn Loyd pleaded guilty in 1999 to kidnapping, aggravated sodomy, sexually assaulting, and fatally strangling a 3-year-old boy
During his trial, Roger Loyd yelled out that he was "ready to end this," and, said that he wanted “to plead guilty to this crap today because from what I done to the 3-year-old child, that’s exactly what I deserve."
CRISP COUNTY, GA -- A Georgia death row inmate from Crisp County is asking the Georgia Supreme Court to overturn his conviction because his lawyers say he was "stressed out," at the time he confessed. 48-year-old Roger Lynn Loyd pleaded guilty in 1999 to kidnapping, aggravated sodomy, sexually assaulting, and fatally strangling a 3-year-old boy.
The boy's mother left her son with Loyd so that she could run some errands.
During his trial, Loyd yelled out that he was "ready to end this," and, said that he wanted “to plead guilty to this crap today because from what I done to the 3-year-old child, that’s exactly what I deserve."
Loyd's lawyers say his confession wasn't "voluntarily given," as required by law, when he yelled out in court because he was "stressed out," and on medication. They say Loyd was misinformed by prosecutors that he could not withdraw his plea once it was entered, even though under Georgia law you can withdraw a guilty plea at any time before sentencing.
Prosecutors say Loyd entered his plea voluntarily and “fully acknowledged his guilt,” and that his understanding of the plea was "crystal clear," when he made it.
Loyd's lawyers also say that he was brain damaged during a crash earlier in his life and suffered from a variety of mental issues.
At sentencing, prosecutors presented evidence that in 1987 he entered a plea to the rape of a 13-year-old Illinois girl; admitted he daily molested a 4-year-old girl and told police he had molested probably 15 children.
The court will hear the case Tuesday morning in Atlanta.
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