Nearly three decades after a double murder rattled a Baton Rouge restaurant, Louisiana is back in court trying to put the condemned man to death.
Attorney General Liz Murrill appeared before a three-judge appeals panel in New Orleans on Tuesday, pressing the state’s bid to carry out the execution of Todd Wessinger, the Baton Rouge man convicted in 1997 of killing two employees at Calendar’s Restaurant. His death sentence has bounced between federal rulings and appellate reversals for years, and the latest hearing thrusts the long-running case back under the courtroom spotlight as state officials signal a broader push to restart executions.
As reported by WGNO, Murrill urged the panel to let the state proceed with the execution and told the judges she believes the court will ultimately side with the state. Her office has filed motions to reinstate the death sentence after a federal court vacated the penalty phase. Family members of the victims told the outlet they are readying themselves for yet another round in the legal fight.
The 1995 killings
On Nov. 19, 1995, Wessinger entered Calendar’s Restaurant on Perkins Road in Baton Rouge and opened fire. He killed manager Stephanie Guzzardo and cook David Breakwell and wounded others. An East Baton Rouge Parish jury convicted him of two counts of first-degree murder in June 1997, and the trial judge handed down two death sentences, according to the state’s appellate record.
As detailed by the Louisiana Supreme Court, jurors found that the killings occurred during an armed robbery and cited multiple aggravating circumstances when they recommended death.
Court fight to date
A federal judge in the Middle District of Louisiana granted habeas relief and vacated Wessinger’s death sentences in December 2022, ruling that his trial lawyers were ineffective during the penalty phase. That finding is laid out in the court’s December 20, 2022 order, available through the Death Penalty Information Center.
The case has a long and tangled appellate history. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals previously reinstated the death sentences in 2017, and in June 2025 a judge ordered the penalty phase reconsidered and sent the matter back to the 19th Judicial District. That remand was reported by WBRZ.
Why the state is moving now
The renewed push from prosecutors arrives as Louisiana’s leadership signals it intends to resume executions after a lengthy pause. The state has updated its execution protocols, including new methods that have drawn national attention, and that broader policy shift has made long-pending capital cases like Wessinger’s immediate priorities for the Attorney General’s office as it seeks finality in old sentences.
According to AP, state officials say they are preparing to carry out death sentences that have been delayed for years.
Family reaction and what comes next
Family members of Stephanie Guzzardo have repeatedly said they want the original death sentence to stand. In 2023, Wayne Guzzardo told WAFB, “Til the day I die... we’re going to fight it.”
The three-judge panel’s decision could clear the way for the state to set an execution date or send the case back to state court for a new penalty phase. There is currently no public execution date. Local reporting and court records indicate that the remand to the 19th Judicial District remains a key step in the complicated path ahead for the case.
