October 08, 2025
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld a death sentence for Richard R. Laird, of Bristol, for the 1987 murder of a gay man.
A Bristol man's first-degree murder conviction and death sentence from a 1987 killing of a gay man was upheld on Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court after several appeals through state and federal courts.
The case marked the first instance in national history where capital punishment was secured for a murder motivated by anti-gay bias. But 62-year-old Richard R. Laird, who is incarcerated in a state prison near Pittsburgh, will not face execution any time soon since Pennsylvania has had a moratorium on executions since 2015.
In a Bristol Township bar in December 1987, Laird and his co-conspirator Frank Chester hurled anti-gay slurs at artist Anthony Milano, a 26-year-old gay man, before taking him into a wooded area where they beat him and slashed his throat multiple times until he aspirated on his own blood and died. One week later, the two were arrested.
At the Court of Common Pleas in Bucks County the following year, a jury found both men guilty of first-degree murder and other charges. They were both received the death penalty, but Chester's sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.
Over the years, Laird has repeatedly attempted to appeal his conviction, alleging that his counsel had been ineffective for not disclosing to the jury the extent of his history as a victim of physical and sexual abuse. After filing a federal habeas petition, Laird's first-degree murder conviction and death sentence were vacated in 2001, but during a 2007 retrial a jury once again found him guilty of the same charges and resentenced him to death. This decision was upheld by the state Supreme Court in 2010.
Pennsylvania has not executed anyone since 1999. Former Gov. Tom Wolf enacted a moratorium on executions in 2015, which was extended two years ago by Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Despite the governor's refusal to issue execution warrants, a statement from the Bucks County District Attorney's Office's said that over the years its appellate unit "worked diligently to make sure that the sentence of death imposed by the jury remained undisturbed."
"The Supreme Court's denial of ceritiorari confirms the validity of Richard Roland Laird's conviction and sentence," Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said in a statement. "This decision is a crucial step toward bringing closure to the family and loved ones of Anthony Milano, who have waited decades for justice to be finally and irrevocably served."
