Despite the man’s attorneys continuing to assert that he is mentally incompetent, Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced on Monday that the state will move forward with this week’s scheduled execution of a man who kidnapped and killed a 6-year-old girl nearly two decades ago.
The 45-year-old Johnny Johnson will be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday night for the fatal beating of Casey Williamson on July 26, 2022, in her Valley Park, St. Louis County, home.
MERCY PLEA HAS BEEN REJECTED
The US Supreme Court has been urged by Johnny Johnson’s counsel to halt the execution. In addition, they requested that Parson commute Johnny Johnson’s sentence to life in prison, claiming that his mental state prevented him from recognizing the connection between his acts and his execution.
Parson turned down the clemency request. He mentioned that Johnny Johnson’s incompetency arguments have so far been rejected by a number of courts, including the initial trial judge and the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals just a few days ago.
In a statement, Parson described Johnny Johnson’s act as “one of the most horrific murders that have come across my desk.” Casey was a helpless child who fiercely resisted Johnny Johnson until he killed her.
Former sheriff Parson stated that he had received “countless letters in the last few weeks seeking justice for Casey” and expressed the hope that carrying out the execution “may provide some closure for Casey’s loved ones.”
Casey Williamson’s father, Ernie Williamson, is against the death penalty, according to Johnny Johnson’s attorneys in a clemency appeal.
However, other family members pleaded with the governor to carry out the execution.
Della Steele, Casey’s great aunt, wrote to Parson to emphasize that Johnson had every opportunity to turn around but instead decided to kidnap, assault, and kill Casey before practically covering up his crime.
She stated in the message, which she shared with The Associated Press, that the grief over Casey’s passing resulted in negative things happening in the lives of other family members.
CHILDHOOD
Casey’s mother had been great friends with Johnny Johnson’s older sister as a child and had even helped babysit him. Casey’s family allowed Johnson to sleep on a couch in the same house where they were spending the night when Johnson showed up at a BBQ.
However, in the morning, Johnny Johnson lured the girl to accompany him to an abandoned glass factory, even carrying her on his shoulders. According to court filings, Casey screamed and fought to break free when he attempted to sexually abuse her. He murdered her with a brick and a heavy boulder before washing away in the adjacent Meramec River. That following day, Johnson confessed to the crimes.
Casey’s body was discovered in a pit not far from her home, buried beneath rocks and rubble, after a search by first responders and volunteers.
Defense attorneys submitted testimony during Johnny Johnson’s trial indicating that he had stopped taking his schizophrenia medication and was acting abnormally in the days preceding the slaying.
Johnny Johnson would be the fourth person executed in Missouri this year, and the 16th in the country.
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