A Missouri law prohibits anybody under 21 from witnessing an execution, but a 19-year-old woman is requesting permission from a federal court to watch her father be executed by injection.
For the 2005 murder of William McEntee, a police officer in Kirkwood, Missouri, Kevin Johnson will be put to death on November 29. Johnson’s attorneys are pursuing appeals in an effort to preserve his life.
Khorry Ramey, Johnson’s daughter, is eager to attend the execution after being asked to do so by her father. The American Civil Liberties Union submitted an urgent motion to a Kansas City federal court on Monday. The statute prohibiting underage drinking, according to the ACLU’s legal brief, violates Ramey’s constitutional rights and serves no safety purpose.
Johnson was referred to be “the most significant person in my life” by Ramey in a court declaration.
As a source of support for both my father and myself as an essential component of my grieving process and for my peace of mind, Ramey added, “If my father were dying in the hospital, I would sit by his bed holding his hand and praying for him until his death.”
Since Ramey was 2 years old, Johnson, now 37, has been jailed. The ACLU claimed that through visits, phone calls, emails, and letters, the two were able to develop a bond. She brought her little son to the prison last month so he could meet his grandfather.
Ramey will suffer “irreparable injury” if she is unable to attend the execution, according to ACLU attorney Anthony Rothert.
In the meantime, Johnson’s attorneys have submitted appeals in an effort to stop the execution. They don’t deny his guilt, but they argue that racism was a factor in both the jury’s decision to sentence him to death and the decision to seek the death penalty. McEntee was white and Johnson is Black.
In addition, Johnson’s attorneys have asked the courts to get involved because of his age (19 at the time of the murder), his history of mental illness, and other factors. Since the Supreme Court abolished the execution of offenders who were under the age of 18 at the time of their crime in 2005, courts have become less likely to sentence juvenile offenders to death.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office claimed there were no grounds for court intervention in a court filing made last week to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The state appeal noted that “the surviving victims of Johnson’s crimes have waited long enough for justice, and every day they must wait longer is a day they are denied the chance to finally come to terms with their loss.”
On July 5, 2005, McEntee, a husband and father of three, was one of the law enforcement personnel dispatched to Johnson’s residence to execute an arrest warrant. Police thought Johnson had broken the terms of his probation after hitting his girlfriend while under it.
Joseph “Bam Bam” Long, 12, was awakened by Johnson when he saw police approach and raced next door to their grandmother’s home. The youngster, who had a congenital heart problem, collapsed and was having a seizure when he arrived.
Johnson testified in court that McEntee prevented his mother from helping Johnson’s brother, who later passed away in a hospital, by preventing her from entering the home.
McEntee went back to the area later that evening to investigate unrelated complaints of fireworks being set off. At that point, he ran into Johnson.
Johnson shot the cop after pulling a gun. He then went up to the downed cop and fired again, killing him.
The first of three executions that would take place in Missouri in the coming months. Killers Scott McLaughlin and Leonard Taylor will be put to death by the state on January 3 and February 7, respectively.
This year, 16 men have been put to death in the United States. Kenneth Eugene Smith, an Alabama prisoner who murdered a preacher’s wife in a murder-for-hire conspiracy, was supposed to be executed on Thursday, but officials were unable to locate a suitable vein to administer the fatal chemicals, thus the execution was postponed.
