1 year ago
61
CNN —
Kevin Johnson – who murdered a Kirkwood, Missouri, constabulary serviceman successful 2005 but claimed radical bias successful his prosecution – was executed Tuesday nighttime by lethal injection.
Johnson, 37, was pronounced dormant astatine 7:40 p.m. CT. He didn’t springiness a last statement, according to Missouri Department of Corrections spokesperson Karen Pojmann.
The execution went up aft the US Supreme Court denied his petition for a enactment of execution. Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor dissented, according to the court’s website.
On Monday, the Missouri Supreme Court had denied Johnson’s petition for a enactment aft proceeding arguments that radical favoritism played a relation successful his prosecution.
Mary McEntee, the widow of Kirkwood Police Sgt. William McEntee, said her hubby was killed connected his hands and knees successful beforehand of radical helium dedicated his beingness to serve.
“When helium near for enactment that day, we could not ideate that helium would beryllium executed by idiosyncratic helium gave his beingness to protect,” she said astatine a media briefing Tuesday evening. “Bill didn’t get to combat for his life. He didn’t person the accidental to beryllium heard earlier a jury, to determine whether helium would unrecorded oregon die.”
She besides thanked the prosecutors who enactment successful the “hard enactment and endless hours … for justness for Bill.”
The execution was not witnessed by Johnson’s 19-year-old daughter, who had failed this period to get a national tribunal to forestall the authorities from executing her begetter unless she was permitted to beryllium a witness. Missouri instrumentality bars radical younger than 21 from witnessing the proceeding.
Pojmann said Johnson met with his girl earlier Tuesday.
On Monday, the Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments successful 2 requests for a stay: 1 by Johnson, who was Black, and the different by a peculiar authoritative appointed astatine the petition of the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which secured Johnson’s condemnation connected a first-degree execution complaint and decease condemnation for the execution of McEntee.
Both requests sought a enactment truthful claims of radical prejudice could beryllium heard by the St. Louis County Circuit Court, which antecedently denied a question by the peculiar authoritative to vacate Johnson’s conviction, saying determination was not capable clip earlier Johnson’s scheduled execution to clasp a hearing.
“There simply is thing present that Johnson has not raised (and that this Court has not rejected) earlier and, adjacent if determination were, Johnson offers nary ground for raising immoderate caller oregon re-packaged versions of these oft-rejected claims astatine this precocious date,” the Monday ruling said.
Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, besides connected Monday denied a petition for clemency from Johnson’s attorneys.
“Mr. Johnson has received each extortion afforded by the Missouri and United States Constitutions, and Mr. Johnson’s condemnation and condemnation stay for his horrendous and callous crime,” Parson said successful a statement. “The State of Missouri volition transportation retired Mr. Johnson’s condemnation according to the Court’s bid and present justice.”
A defence lawyer for Johnson decried Monday’s authorities Supreme Court ruling arsenic a “complete disregard for the instrumentality successful this case.”
“The Prosecutor successful this lawsuit had requested that the Court halt the execution based connected the compelling grounds helium uncovered this past period establishing that Mr. Johnson was sentenced to decease due to the fact that helium is Black,” lawyer Shawn Nolan said successful a statement. “The Missouri Supreme Court unconscionably refused to simply intermission Mr. Johnson’s execution day truthful that the Prosecutor could contiguous this grounds to the little court, who refused to see it successful the archetypal lawsuit fixed the property of time.”
Meantime, attorneys for Johnson argued successful tribunal records that radical favoritism played a relation successful his prosecution, pointing successful their question for a enactment to “long-standing and pervasive radical bias” successful St. Louis County prosecutors’ “handling of this lawsuit and different death-eligible prosecutions, including the office’s decisions of which discourtesy to charge, which punishment to seek, and which jurors to strike.”
Per their request, the prosecuting lawyer sought the decease punishment against 4 of 5 defendants tried for the sidesplitting of a constabulary serviceman portion successful bureau – each of them Black, portion the 5th was White. In the lawsuit with a White defendant, Johnson’s petition says, the authoritative invited defence attorneys to taxable mitigation grounds that mightiness transportation the bureau not to question decease – an accidental not afforded the Black defendants.
Additionally, they pointed to a survey by a University of North Carolina governmental scientist of 408 death-eligible homicide prosecutions during this prosecutor’s tenure that recovered the bureau mostly sought the decease punishment erstwhile the victims were White.
Those claims look supported by a peculiar prosecutor, who was appointed to the lawsuit past period aft the St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney’s Office cited a struggle of interest. The peculiar prosecutor, Edward E.E. Keenan, likewise “determined that racist prosecution techniques infected Mr. Johnson’s condemnation and decease sentence,” helium wrote successful his ain petition for a stay.
The peculiar authoritative recovered “clear and convincing grounds of radical bias by the proceedings prosecutor,” helium wrote successful the request, citing akin grounds to that listed by Johnson’s attorneys successful their petition for a stay.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office argued against a stay, saying the claims were without merit. The peculiar prosecutor’s “unproven claims,” the AG’s bureau said successful a brief, bash not magnitude to a concession of wrongdoing by the state, which stands by the conviction.
“The McEntee household has waited agelong capable for justice,” the little said, “and each time longer that they indispensable hold is simply a time they are denied the accidental to yet marque bid with their loss.”
Bob McCulloch, the longtime St. Louis prosecuting lawyer who was voted retired of bureau successful 2018 aft 27 years, has denied helium treated Black and White defendants differently.
“Show maine a akin lawsuit wherever the unfortunate was Black and I didn’t inquire for death,” helium was quoted arsenic saying by St. Louis Public Radio earlier this month astir his clip successful office. “And past we person thing to speech about. But that lawsuit conscionable doesn’t exist.”
Johnson was sentenced to dice for the July 5, 2005, execution of McEntee, 43, who was called to Johnson’s vicinity successful effect to a study of fireworks.
Earlier that day, Johnson’s 12-year-old member had died aft having a seizure astatine their family’s home, according to tribunal records. Police were determination astatine the clip of the seizure, seeking to service a warrant against Johnson, past 19, for a probation violation.
Johnson blamed the police, including McEntee, for his brother’s death. And erstwhile McEntee returned to the vicinity aboriginal that day, Johnson approached the sergeant’s patrol car, accused him of sidesplitting his member and opened fire.
He near down a wife, a girl and 2 sons, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
English (US)