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A 19-year-old woman in Missouri has asked a federal court for permission to watch her father receive a lethal injection despite a state law that prohibits those under 21 from witnessing executions.
Kevin Johnson, 37, was sentenced to death for killing a St. Louis cop in 2005 and will be executed on November 29. -old brother hours earlier.
In her appeal to federal court in Kansas City, his daughter Corionsa “Khorry” Ramey, 19, described Johnson as “the most important person in my life.”
In an affidavit submitted to the court on Monday, Ramey states that not only did she lose her father in prison at the age of two, but she also witnessed the murder of her mother two years later, when she was four years old. .
Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed an emergency motion arguing that laws barring people under 21 from attending executions are not only futile but also violate constitutional rights.
“If my father was dying in the hospital, I would sit by his bedside and hold his hand and pray for him until he died, both as a source of support for him and as a support for me as a necessary part of my grieving process.” and for my peace of mind,” Ramey said in a court document.
A photo from the ACLU shows Corionsa ‘Khorry’ Ramey (left), 19, introducing her newborn son to her father Kevin Johnson (right) in prison last month
Ramey (right) has appealed to federal court in Kansas City for permission to watch the execution of her father Johnson (left) by lethal injection
Johnson at the Clayton Courthouse in April 2007, shortly after the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision in his trial, resulting in a mistrial
Kevin Johnson will be executed on November 29 for the 2005 killing of Kirkwood police officer McEntee.
McEntee, a husband and father of three, was sent to Johnson’s home on July 5, 2005, to serve a warrant for his arrest. Johnson was on probation for assaulting his girlfriend and police believed he had violated his probation.
Johnson saw officers approaching and woke up his 12-year-old brother, Joseph “Bam Bam” Long, who was running next to their grandmother’s house.
At her home, the boy suffered from a congenital heart defect that caused him to have a seizure and die shortly afterwards in hospital.
Johnson testified at the trial that McEntee stopped his mother from entering the house to help his dying brother.
Later that night in 2005, McEntee returned to the neighborhood in response to unrelated reports of fireworks being set off. Then he bumped into Johnson.
Johnson pulled out a gun and shot McEntee. He then approached the wounded, kneeling officer and shot him again, killing him.
Kevin Johnson is to be executed on November 29 for killing Kirkwood police officer McEntee in 2005
Ramey, 19, was two when her father was imprisoned for the fatal shooting and at the age of four witnessed the murder of her mother by an ex-boyfriend
Missouri police officer William McEntee was shot dead by Kevin Johnson in 2005
Johnson, now 37, has been incarcerated since Ramey was two. The ACLU said the father and daughter were able to bond through visits, phone calls, emails and letters.
Last month, she took her newborn son to prison to meet his grandfather.
ACLU attorney Anthony Rothert said that if Ramey is prevented from attending the execution, it will cause her “irreparable harm.”
An ACLU filing argues that state law violates Ramey’s right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and her right of association under the First Amendment.
It says the age threshold of 21 is not reasonable and serves no safety purpose.
It also states that in federal executions and in the vast majority of death penalty states, there is no age requirement for the convicted inmate’s family to witness an execution, or that the minimum age is 18 years.
Johnson killed McEntee hours after his 12-year-old brother’s death in a fit of rage
According to the ACLU, Ramey (left) and Johnson (right) were able to bond with each other through visits, phone calls, emails, and letters (photo taken in prison)
ACLU attorney Anthony Rothert said if Ramey (pictured) is prevented from attending the execution, it will cause her “irreparable harm”
Meanwhile, Johnson’s lawyers have filed several appeals to have the execution stopped.
While they do not dispute that he is guilty, they do claim that racism played a role in the jury’s decision to give him the death penalty, since McEntee was white.
Johnson’s lawyers also asked the court to intervene for other reasons, including a history of mental illness and his age. Johnson was 19 at the time of the murder.
Courts have increasingly stopped sentencing teens to death since the Supreme Court in 2005 banned the execution of defendants who were under 18 at the time of their crime.
In a lawsuit last week in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office stated that there were no grounds for judicial intervention.
“The surviving victims of Johnson’s crimes have waited long enough for justice, and each day longer they have to wait is a day they are denied the chance to finally make peace with their loss,” the state’s petition reads. .
Johnson waits at the Clayton Courthouse for his trial in March 2007
Johnson’s execution would be the first of three in Missouri in the coming months (photo taken in prison)
Johnson’s execution would be the first of three in Missouri in the coming months.
The state plans to execute convicted murderers Scott McLaughlin on January 3 and Leonard Taylor on February 7.
Sixteen men have been executed in the US this year.
Kenneth Eugene Smith, an Alabama inmate, was due to die Thursday for murdering a preacher’s wife.
The execution was halted because prison staff could not find a suitable vein to inject the deadly drugs.
On Monday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey suspended the executions and ordered a top-to-bottom review of the state’s death penalty system.