ST. LOUIS 鈥 A federal appeals judge鈥檚 order on Tuesday has paused the execution date for Johnny Johnson, based on his claims of mental incompetency.
Johnson was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Aug. 1 for the murder of 6-year-old Casey Williamson. Johnson, who has been incarcerated since the 2002 killing, has never denied bludgeoning her to death in Valley Park.
But he has maintained that not managing his mental illnesses led him to commit the crime. His attorneys noted Johnson鈥檚 suicide attempts and diagnosed schizophrenia and other mental illnesses in their appeal.
His attorneys say he should serve life in prison. They argued in a motion to stay the execution on Saturday that it would be a cruel and unusual action, and not constitutional, to execute Johnson in his current mental state.
Johnson鈥檚 lawyers questioned the qualifications of one of the state鈥檚 experts, whose assessment of Johnson contradicted theirs, and highlighted the 鈥渟erious conflict of interest鈥 of that same expert being assigned to both treat and assess Johnson鈥檚 mental illnesses.
People are also reading…
The Missouri Supreme Court denied Johnson鈥檚 petition earlier this month, and Johnson has been denied on a plethora of petitions and appeals. In the most recent motion, he accuses government agencies of making him face 鈥渕yriad roadblocks鈥 in obtaining records on his medical and mental health, which delayed his legal submissions.
The Missouri Attorney General鈥檚 Office responded to the stay of execution motion, calling Johnson鈥檚 defense鈥檚 claims meritless. Federal prosecutors say Johnson could have filed his appeals and petitions in a more timely manner.
鈥滱t bottom, Johnson鈥檚 claims of error amount to little more than his hope that a federal court will disagree with the decision of the Supreme Court of Missouri,鈥 stated Assistant Attorney General Gregory Godwin.
In the order granting the stay of execution, the federal judge stated Johnson鈥檚 team鈥檚 opening briefs are due Sept. 5; the Missouri Attorney General鈥檚 Office must reply within 30 days.
Johnson鈥檚 defense also has a pending clemency application with Gov. Mike Parson鈥檚 office, which has yet to be acted upon.