The Missouri Department of Corrections successfully carried out its execution of Kevin Johnson early Tuesday evening.
The Missouri Department of Corrections successfully carried out its execution of Kevin Johnson early Tuesday evening.
The final words of death row inmate Kevin Johnson — a man convicted of ambushing and killing a police officer — have been revealed.
Johnson, a 37-year-old African American man, was sentenced to death for the 2005 murder of a father-of-three in a suburb of St Louis, Missouri.
Johnson was executed by lethal injection in a prison in the town of Bonne Terre. He was pronounced dead at 7:40pm local time.
Spiritual advisor Reverend Darryl Gray said he read scripture with Johnson before the injection, revealing the 37-year-old “pologised to the victim’s family.
“We read scripture and had a word of prayer,” he said.
“He apologised again. He apologised to the victim’s family. He apologised to his family.
“He said he was looking forward to seeing his baby brother. And he said he was ready.”
Johnson’s daughter, Corionsa “Khorry” Ramey, sued to be allowed to witness her father’s execution but a federal court turned down her request because she is below the minimum state age of 21.
Kevin Johnson and his daughter Khorry Ramey. Photo / ACLU
“I’m heartbroken that I won’t be able to be with my dad in his last moments,” Ramey said in a statement following the court decision.
“My dad is the most important person in my life,” she said. “He has been there for me my whole life, even though he’s been incarcerated.”
Johnson was convicted of shooting and killing a white police sergeant on July 5, 2005, two hours after the death of Johnson’s 12-year-old brother from a seizure.
Police officers were at the family home at the time to serve an arrest warrant for Johnson and he blamed the police for his brother’s death.
Johnson’s lawyers filed last-minute appeals in a bid to save his life, arguing that his 2007 conviction was tainted by racial discrimination.
A special prosecutor appointed to look into the case asked for a stay of execution, citing evidence of racial discrimination on the part of the state prosecutor.
But the Missouri Supreme Court rejected the request late on Monday.
