Guilty, again: After a second trial, jury convicts man who killed a Knoxville server in 2008
Micah Ross Johnson's second murder trial ended just like his first: with a conviction for the murder of Carrie Daugherty in March 2008.
After nearly two weeks of exhaustive testimony that stretched into the weekend, the jury took just a few hours on May 6 to convict the now-36-year-old defendant of first-degree premeditated and intentional murder, first-degree felony murder, especially aggravated kidnapping and especially aggravated robbery.
His sentencing is set for July 21.
Johnson spent a decade in prison before his initial conviction was overturned by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in January 2022 and he was released on $1 million bond in June. The court remanded the case back to Knox County for a retrial that began last week.
Sanity of defendant heart of issue in brutal murder of Carrie Daugherty
"A brick, a shovel and a rope. That’s what this guy did, that’s what he used to brutally murder Carrie Daugherty," Knox County Assistant District Attorney General Larry Dillon told the jury.
Dillon said the multiple attacks on Daugherty over the course of 10 minutes showed the required premeditation, ascribing the brutal assault to the first version of events given by the defendant: that Daugherty was unable to pay him everything she owed on a marijuana debt, that he propositioned her and then killed her when she slapped him.
Afterward, Johnson went to the house where he lived with his father to shower, change clothes and put his bloody clothes in a bag, Dillon said. Johnson then left the house through a window, carrying the bag, and pulled $500 from an ATM before fleeing to Georgia but later returning to Tennessee.
Dillon discredited Johnson's insanity defense, telling the jury he knew what he was doing.
"Let's not get lost in the weeds," he said. "The truth is like a compass. A compass can always be relied upon to lead you true north. … Use your compass. You will get there."
Johnson's attorney, Gregory Isaacs, quipped that the prosecution's compass must have become demagnetized and wasn't working right.
According to Isaacs, there was "consistent and converging" evidence that his client suffered from a debilitating mental illness. The legal standard for insanity, he said, is simple: the jury must find that Johnson suffered from a severe mental illness on March 19, 2008, the date of the murder. And he must have been unable to understand what he was doing, or that it was wrong.
Johnson grew visibly distraught as Isaacs spoke of his illness that progressed through 2007 and 2008, frequently wiping tears from his eyes.
"These are tough facts. ... You have a tough job," Isaacs told the jury. "Don’t let the state ignore the facts because of the severity of the crime."
In the end, however, the jury chose to believe Johnson was not insane and knew what he was doing when he killed Daugherty. Johnson's attorney confirmed he intends to file an appeal of the jury's verdict.
Liz Kellar is a public safety reporter. Email lkellar@knoxnews.com. Twitter @LizKellar.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Jury again convicts man who killed a Knoxville server in 2008
