Execution of Missouri man who killed 6-year-old girl back on after appeals court reverses stay

A Missouri man is once again scheduled to be executed for killing a 6-year-old girl in 2002, following an appeals court decision.

Johnny Johnson, 45, is set to die Tuesday at a Missouri state prison in Bonne Terre.

A week before his scheduled death, a federal appeals court granted an emergency stay blocking the execution. Three judges on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Johnson should not be killed because he does not understand the connection between crime and punishment.

However, the Missouri Attorney General’s office appealed that decision to the full Eighth Circuit Court on Saturday. Ten of the court’s 11 judges heard the case, with seven voting in favor of the execution.

Johnson’s lawyers will likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Breaking News

As it happens

Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts.

On July 25, 2002, Johnson beat 6-year-old Casey Williamson to death with rocks and bricks after attempting to rape her inside an abandoned glass factory near St. Louis.

Johnson was a family friend of Casey’s parents, who let him sleep on their couch the night before he killed their daughter. Casey’s mother told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Johnson was her best friend’s younger brother.

At his trial, Johnson’s lawyers argued for leniency by citing his schizophrenia diagnosis and claiming he did not understand the crime. But on March 7, 2005, a judge sentenced Johnson to death.

Johnson believes Satan is using the state of Missouri to kill him in order to bring an end to the world, according to his attorneys. He’s also spoken of communicating with an “underworld” and described himself as a vampire.

Missouri prosecutors argued that Johnson is capable of managing his schizophrenia through medication. They also formally challenged the psychiatric evaluations of Johnson.

Nationwide, 15 people have been executed in 2023, three of them in Missouri.

With News Wire Services