U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence In 1987 Bristol Township Murder
by Dan Doyle | October 10, 2025
BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The U.S. Supreme Court has denied the final appeal of convicted killer Richard Roland Laird, effectively upholding his first-degree murder conviction and death sentence for the brutal 1987 slaying of Anthony Milano, a 26-year-old artist from Bristol Township.
The Court’s decision on Monday to deny Laird’s Petition for a Writ of Certiorari ends nearly four decades of appeals in the case, marking the conclusion of Richard Roland Laird v. Laurel Harry, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, representing the Commonwealth, had urged the Supreme Court to reject the petition and preserve Laird’s conviction and sentence.
Laird and his accomplice, Frank Chester, were originally convicted in 1989 for what prosecutors described as a vicious and hate-fueled killing. Milano was kidnapped, slashed repeatedly with a knife, and beaten before his body was discovered in a wooded area near the Venice Ashby section of Bristol Township. His vehicle was later found set on fire.
The case drew national attention as the first in U.S. history where a death sentence was imposed in a murder motivated by anti-gay bias.
Years later, a federal appeals court overturned both men’s convictions due to procedural errors, granting them new trials. Chester later pleaded guilty to murder in exchange for a life sentence, while Laird was retried and again sentenced to death in 2007 following a prosecution led by former DA Michelle Henry of the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
Since that time, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office Appellate Unit has fought to ensure the death sentence remained intact.
“The Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari confirms the validity of Richard Roland Laird’s conviction and sentence,” said District Attorney Jennifer Schorn. “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.”
Deputy District Attorney John T. Fegley, Chief of Appeals, served as Counsel of Record for the Respondents in the case.