Leon Jerome Moser (September 15, 1942 – August 16, 1995) was an American convicted murderer who was executed in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

for the 1985 murders of his ex-wife and two daughters in Montgomery County. He was the second person to be executed in Pennsylvania since the United States reinstated

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

in 1976.

Early life

Moser was born on September 15, 1942, in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. He was the son of a farmer and the fourth of five boys. After graduating from high school, Moser attended a Roman Catholic seminary of the Salvadorian order for two years. He left due to poor academic performance and worked at an elementary school for a year. Afterward, he joined the army and received rave reviews in a performance evaluation. He met his future wife, Linda, while stationed at

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Fo ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The couple got married on April 26, 1969. Leon and Linda divorced in September 1984. He was a

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is an individual who performed active Army, ground, Navy, naval, or Air force, air service in the South Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed fo ...

and former

seminarian A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

Murders

On March 31, 1985, Moser attended

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...

services at the St. James Episcopal Church in Evansburg, Lower Providence Township,

. He had arranged to meet his ex-wife, Linda Moser, and his two daughters, Donna and Joanne Moser. According to Linda's parents, her husband had beaten her on several occasions. The girls were to spend the afternoon with Leon once the service ended. After the service, the four of them went outside to Leon's car. Leon asked Linda if he could take his daughters back to visit his parents' home in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Linda declined, and an argument ensued. Joanne got into the back seat of Leon's car, while Donna remained standing by the front of the car. As Linda walked back towards the church, Leon went to the back of his car and took out a bolt-action rifle. He aimed the gun at the back of Joanne's head and pulled the trigger. Linda turned around and screamed as Leon aimed at her and fatally shot her in the chest. He then took aim at Donna and shot her in the head. After the shootings, Leon placed the rifle at his side and fired into the air. He fell to the ground as if shot, and remained there until the police arrived. Linda and Joanne were pronounced dead at the scene, while Donna later died en route to Suburban Hospital in Norristown.

Trial

Moser had been violent towards Linda in the past. In March 1984, he had put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her. He had also previously grabbed her neck and choked her. Prior to the shootings, Moser had recently lost his job as a janitor and was also being treated at a psychiatric unit for depression. Moser pleaded guilty to the murders and a weapon charge and was sentenced to death on January 24, 1986. He refused all appeals and did not fight his execution. He made a statement in court in 1986 in which he said "All I want to do, sir, is just die. Just give me the death penalty, sir. Please? And please have it carried out as soon as possible, sir. Please?"

Execution

On June 1, 1995, Moser and three other inmates on Pennsylvania's

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

had their execution warrants signed by Governor

Tom Ridge Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served in the Presidency of George W. Bush, George W. Bush administration as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003 and as the U ...

. Moser's was set for August 15. Unlike the others, Moser wanted to be executed. Fellow death row inmate,

Mumia Abu-Jamal Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook; April 24, 1954) is an American political activist and journalist who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1982 for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Department, Philadelphia police officer C ...

, who was scheduled for execution two days after Moser, won a stay of execution on August 7. Following the stay, Abu-Jamal and his supporters requested and encouraged Moser to fight to save his own life. Ultimately, Moser rejected their requests. Moser was executed by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...

on August 16, 1995, at

State Correctional Institution – Rockview The State Correctional Institution – Rockview (SCI Rockview) is a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections prison located in Centre County, Pennsylvania, Centre County, Pennsylvania, away from Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, Bellefonte. The facilit ...

. He declined to make a final statement. His

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States Contrary to the common belief t ...

was two slices of pizza, cold cuts, pasta salad, a frosted cupcake, and Coca-Cola. He became the second person to be executed by the state of Pennsylvania since the resumption of the death penalty in 1976. He remains the second of only three people to be executed in Pennsylvania since the resumption of capital punishment. The others were Keith Zettlemoyer in May 1995 and Gary M. Heidnik in 1999.

Legacy

The murders of Linda Moser and her daughters led to a change in the law in Pennsylvania. A year after Linda's death, the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...

changed the state Crime Code, giving police the power to make arrests in domestic violence cases based on evidence. Prior to this, police had to witness an assault before making an arrest. In 1988, the legislature went further and amended the 1978 Protection from Abuse Act. The new amendments allowed women to file for protection without the assistance of a lawyer.

References