The father of a 6-year-old who was murdered 21 years ago does not want her killer to be executed, according to a clemency application sent Thursday to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
Ernie Williamson, whose daughter Casey was killed in 2002 in St. Louis County, said executing Johnny Johnson will not bring closure “because it won’t bring Casey back,” according to the clemency application.
Johnson, 45, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Tuesday, Aug. 1.
Attorneys for Johnson said their client “was in the grips of active psychosis” when he killed Casey. Diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 16, Johnson has continued to hear voices and “believes that the reason for his impending execution is that Satan using the State of Missouri to bring about the end of the world,” his attorneys said in the application.
Parson has not been amenable to granting clemency to death row prisoners facing execution. Three people have been executed in recent months after unsuccessful clemency applications. Last month, Parson lifted a stay of execution for Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams, whose guilt was called into question after his DNA was not detected on the murder weapon.
The governor’s office said Friday that they have received the application and it will be reviewed prior to Aug. 1.
Attorneys for Johnson said Ernie Williamson, a deeply religious man, supports clemency. He still grieves the loss of his daughter, the application said, but believes she is bringing good to the world through a scholarship and safety fairs that were started in her name.
The Johnson and Williamson families know each other, and the attorneys said Ernie Williamson does not want to hurt them like he has been hurt.
A juror also said she would be OK with clemency, the application said.
Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty said that executing Johnson was unnecessary.
“The exercise of mercy by Governor Parson to commute Johnny’s sentence to life without parole aligns with the principles of compassion and fairness while paying due respect to the inherent worth and dignity of every human being,” the organization said in a statement.
Missouri has increased its pace of executions this year. Amber McLaughlin was executed in January, Leonard “Raheem” Taylor was executed in February and Michael Tisius was executed last month. Two other men with capital sentences have died this year. Thirteen others remain on Missouri’s death row.
Four states — Missouri, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas — have carried out executions this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
History of Johnny Johnson
In the 49-page clemency application, Johnson’s legal team outlines several reasons they believe he should not be executed, including a brain disorder that caused developmental delays as a child and persistent mental health problems.
He also suffered several traumatic experiences including physical and sexual abuse as a child.
When he was 14, he was admitted to a psychiatric clinic where he received a dozen stitches on his left wrist. By 18, he had been a psychiatric patient four times, the clemency application said.
Johnson continued to experience mental health problems including depression and auditory hallucinations.
He was released from a state psychiatric center in January 2002.
On July 25 of that year, he went to a friend’s house where he had been staying for a few days.
Casey Williamson, who was also staying at the home, was reported missing the next day. According to court documents, Johnson bludgeoned her head with a brick and left her body in a pit at a nearby glass factory.
He was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and attempted rape.
Mental competency questions
In the years Johnson has been incarcerated, he has heard voices telling him to cut off his arm, swallowed razor blades and reported hearing demonic voices. Medical records from prison indicated that even with several medications, there have been times Johnson has believed he was a vampire.
At one time, he shared a cell with Tisius, who was executed last month. Three days before, Tisius signed an affidavit saying he had witnessed Johnson removing chunks of his skin and bang his head against the wall, causing him to bleed from the head. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office contended Johnson’s injury was caused by a fall while he was listening to music and dancing in his cell.
Johnson’s attorneys argue that he lacks the mental competency necessary to be executed.
In addition to the clemency application with Parson, a motion for a stay of execution is being considered in federal court. It is opposed by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which argues that “Johnson will not be injured without a stay.”