Lawrence Singleton
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Singleton was an American
criminal best known for perpetrating an infamous rape and mutilation of a teenage hitchhiker in California in 1978.
Singleton picked 15-year-old Mary Vincent of Las Vegas
up hitchhiking in Berkeley, California
, rape
d her, and then hacked her forearms off with a hatchet, throwing her off a 30-foot cliff outside of Modesto, California
. She managed to pull herself up the cliff and alert a passerby, who took her to a hospital. By the time Singleton was arrested, Mary was fitted with prosthetic arms.
At Singleton's trial six months after the assault, Mary faced her assailant and relived the traumatic ordeal in court. Her testimony helped convict him. As she left the witness stand, he swore he would kill her. Although the judge said he wished he could send him to prison for the rest of his natural life, Singleton received a 14-year sentence, the maximum allowed by California law at that time.
Along with the particularly gruesome and callous aspects of the crime, the case became even more notorious after Singleton was paroled after serving only eight years in prison. He was paroled to Contra Costa County, California
, but no town would tolerate his presence, so he had to live in a trailer on the grounds of San Quentin.
According to TIME Magazine, "as authorities attempted to settle him in one Bay Area town after another, angry crowds screamed, picketed and eventually prevailed." In Rodeo, about 25 miles northeast of San Francisco, a crowd of approximately 500 protesting locals were up in arms and forced officers to move him under armed guard from a hotel room. He was removed from one apartment in Contra Costa County in a bullet-proof vest after 400 residents surrounded the building to protest a decision to place him there permanently. Governor George Deukmejian
ordered that Mr. Singleton be placed at San Quentin for the duration of his one-year parole. The outrage at this sentence resulted in legislation, supported by Mary Vincent, which prevents the early release of offenders who have committed a crime in which torture is used: in 1987 Singleton's parole led to passage of California's "Singleton bill", which carries a 25-years-to-life sentence. (Harrower, 1998). The leniency of the legal system shocked and outraged many. One journalist who interviewed him remarked, "What was most surprising to me, however, was not his sentence. It was that Larry Singleton had worked his crimes around in his mind so completely that they did not warrant punishment at all." Right before Singleton's parole ended, Donald Stahl, the Stanislaus County prosecutor at Mr. Singleton's trial said, "I think, if anything, he's worse now. He has not taken responsibility. He lives in a bizarre fantasy land and acquits himself each day. He doesn't accept his guilt and resolve never to do it again."
Singleton returned to his native Florida
, where he kept a low profile until the spring of 1997, when a neighbor called police and reported seeing a 69-year old Singleton strangling a nude woman in his house.
When police arrived, they found Singleton drunk with his shirt open and blood smeared over his chest. Inside, police found the nude, bloody corpse of 31-year old prostitute Roxanne Hayes; she had been stabbed seven times in the face and chest.
Mary Vincent flew to Tampa to testify during the sentencing phase of Singleton's murder trial. During her testimony, she told the court of Singleton's 1978 attack and the physical and emotional toll it had taken. The judge sentenced Singleton to death. Three years later, he died of cancer while still on death row in a prison hospital at the North Florida Reception Center in Starke, Florida.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
criminal best known for perpetrating an infamous rape and mutilation of a teenage hitchhiker in California in 1978.
Singleton picked 15-year-old Mary Vincent of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
up hitchhiking in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d her, and then hacked her forearms off with a hatchet, throwing her off a 30-foot cliff outside of Modesto, California
Modesto, California
Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
. She managed to pull herself up the cliff and alert a passerby, who took her to a hospital. By the time Singleton was arrested, Mary was fitted with prosthetic arms.
At Singleton's trial six months after the assault, Mary faced her assailant and relived the traumatic ordeal in court. Her testimony helped convict him. As she left the witness stand, he swore he would kill her. Although the judge said he wished he could send him to prison for the rest of his natural life, Singleton received a 14-year sentence, the maximum allowed by California law at that time.
Along with the particularly gruesome and callous aspects of the crime, the case became even more notorious after Singleton was paroled after serving only eight years in prison. He was paroled to Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
, but no town would tolerate his presence, so he had to live in a trailer on the grounds of San Quentin.
According to TIME Magazine, "as authorities attempted to settle him in one Bay Area town after another, angry crowds screamed, picketed and eventually prevailed." In Rodeo, about 25 miles northeast of San Francisco, a crowd of approximately 500 protesting locals were up in arms and forced officers to move him under armed guard from a hotel room. He was removed from one apartment in Contra Costa County in a bullet-proof vest after 400 residents surrounded the building to protest a decision to place him there permanently. Governor George Deukmejian
George Deukmejian
Courken George Deukmejian, Jr. born June 6, 1928) is an Armenian American politician from California who as a Republican served as the 35th Governor of California and as California Attorney General .-Early life:...
ordered that Mr. Singleton be placed at San Quentin for the duration of his one-year parole. The outrage at this sentence resulted in legislation, supported by Mary Vincent, which prevents the early release of offenders who have committed a crime in which torture is used: in 1987 Singleton's parole led to passage of California's "Singleton bill", which carries a 25-years-to-life sentence. (Harrower, 1998). The leniency of the legal system shocked and outraged many. One journalist who interviewed him remarked, "What was most surprising to me, however, was not his sentence. It was that Larry Singleton had worked his crimes around in his mind so completely that they did not warrant punishment at all." Right before Singleton's parole ended, Donald Stahl, the Stanislaus County prosecutor at Mr. Singleton's trial said, "I think, if anything, he's worse now. He has not taken responsibility. He lives in a bizarre fantasy land and acquits himself each day. He doesn't accept his guilt and resolve never to do it again."
Singleton returned to his native Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where he kept a low profile until the spring of 1997, when a neighbor called police and reported seeing a 69-year old Singleton strangling a nude woman in his house.
When police arrived, they found Singleton drunk with his shirt open and blood smeared over his chest. Inside, police found the nude, bloody corpse of 31-year old prostitute Roxanne Hayes; she had been stabbed seven times in the face and chest.
Mary Vincent flew to Tampa to testify during the sentencing phase of Singleton's murder trial. During her testimony, she told the court of Singleton's 1978 attack and the physical and emotional toll it had taken. The judge sentenced Singleton to death. Three years later, he died of cancer while still on death row in a prison hospital at the North Florida Reception Center in Starke, Florida.