Execution of Missouri man to go forward after appeals court reverses Tuesday decision
A stay of execution ordered Tuesday in the case of Johnny Johnson was reversed Saturday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Johnson, 45, was granted a stay by the appeals court in a 2-1 decision announced Tuesday.
Its reversal — in a 7-3 decision over the weekend — reinstates Johnson’s execution scheduled for Aug. 1.
On Saturday afternoon, lawyers for Johnson said that they plan to appeal the decision no later than Monday morning, attorney Kent Gipson said.
Attorneys for Johnson had argued his mental illness is so severe that he would not be competent enough to die by lethal injection. Going forward with the execution, they said, would violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The execution should be delayed so an evidentiary hearing could be held, attorneys said.
Johnson was convicted in the attempted rape and killing of Casey Williamson, 6, in 2002.
During a psychiatric evaluation earlier this year, Johnson told Dr. Bhushan Agharkar that he believes he communicates with beings from another dimension he calls the “Underworld.” Johnson also believes he is a vampire and may be able to “reanimate” his organs if he eats food before his execution, a report said.
Johnson told Agharkar that Satan is using the state of Missouri to kill him and end the world.
The attorney general’s office argued delaying the execution would harm both the State and victims. They also said a prison counselor determined that Johnson’s auditory hallucinations “are well managed by medication,” and that he “appears to understand the nature of his upcoming execution.”
The state has executed three people this year: Amber McLaughlin, Leonard “Raheem” Taylor and Michael Tisius. Tisius was granted a stay by a federal judge on May 31. Two days later, the Eighth Circuit overturned the stay and Tisius was killed June 6.
‘The grips of active psychosis’
Ernie Williamson, the father of the child killed by Johnson, said he does not want to see the now 45-year-old executed, according to a July 13 clemency application sent to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
“It won’t bring Casey back,” Williamson said in the application.
Casey, 6, was killed 21 years ago in St. Louis County. Even in death, she is bringing good to the world, Williamson said, through a scholarship and safety fairs that were started in her name.
Attorneys for Johnson said he was “in the grips of active psychosis,” at the time of the murder. Johnson suffered several traumatic experiences including physical and sexual abuse as a child and was diagnosed with Schizophrenia at age 16, according to a 49 page clemency application.
By 18, he had been a psychiatric patient four times, the clemency application said.
On July 25, 2002, about six months after he was released from a state psychiatric center, he went to a friends house.
Casey Williamson, who was also staying at the home, was reported missing the next day. Her body was discovered in a pit at a nearby glass factory.
Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and attempted rape.
While incarcerated, Johnson received a February 2023 psychiatric evaluation by Agharkar, which described him as “quite psychotic.” Although the report determined Johnson was not competent enough to be executed, prison counselor Ashley Skaggs disagreed, according to an affidavit.
Johnson’s attorneys contend Agharkar is more qualified and has spent twice as much time evaluating him. They also argue that Skaggs’ involvement was a conflict of interest since she is employed as a contractor with the Missouri Department of Corrections.
His attorneys believe that he lacks the mental competency necessary to be executed.
