Johnny Johnson is scheduled to be executed Tuesday for 2002 murder
Johnny Johnson will be the fourth person executed by the state of Missouri in 2023, barring a last-minute stay from the Supreme Court.
Johnson admitted to beating 6-year-old Casey Williamson to death after attempting to rape her in 2002. He is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre on Tuesday.
"Johnny Johnson’s crime is one of the most horrific murders that has come across my desk," Gov. Mike Parson said in a release. "Casey was an innocent young girl who bravely fought Johnson until he took her life.”
However, advocates against executing Johnson argue that he was mentally incompetent when he committed the crime and remains mentally ill now.
“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing someone who is mentally or intellectually disabled is considered against the Eighth Amendment of the constitution’s ban against cruel and unusual punishment,” said Michelle Smith, co-director of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty.
A diagnosed schizophrenic, Johnson had stopped taking his medication in 2002 because it made him “feel like a zombie,” according to attorneys. In recent appeals, Johnson claims that he is a vampire, and the devil will bring about the end of the world with his execution.
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit granted a stay of execution in a 2-1 decision. However, it was overturned by a 7-3 decision from the full court after an appeal from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey.
On Monday, Gov. Parson confirmed that Johnson’s execution will be carried out as scheduled.
“My office has received countless letters in the last few weeks seeking justice for Casey,” Parson said. “Although this won’t bring her back, we hope that carrying out Johnson’s sentence according to the Court’s order may provide some closure for Casey’s loved ones."
There is a chance that the U.S. Supreme Court may grant a stay of execution that supersedes Parson’s directive. There are currently three petitions before the court that argue Johnson is mentally incompetent and that medical examiners in the initial court hearing lacked authority to speak to his mental state.
“During his trial, there were two doctors that were used by the prosecution to say that even though they immediately diagnosed him with schizophrenia and psychosis, they felt like in the moment in time that the crime happened, he knew what he was doing,” Smith said.
The doctors were under investigation for unrelated issues at the time and eventually lost their medical license. This information was not shared with the defense at the time, Smith said.
If the nation’s highest court were to stop the execution, it has until 6 p.m. CT to do so.
“There have been several people who have been strapped to the table or gurney for execution before they got a stay of execution,” Smith said. “So these things can be up to the last minute.”
More: Missouri puts Amber McLaughlin to death in first known U.S. execution of trans woman
Earlier this year, the state executed Amber McLaughlin, Leonard “Raheem” Taylor and Michael Tisius. Parson denied clemency requests for all three people.
Since 2016, Missouri executed no more than 1 person per year. That changed in 2022, when the state executed 2 people, Carman Deck and Kevin Johnson. So far, that figure will have doubled in 2023 with the execution of Johnny Johnson.
“Our state is on a killing spree,” Smith said. “We are competing with a few other states on how many people our state murders, and it is a really horrific situation.”
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Johnny Johnson to be executed Tuesday for 2002 murder of child
