Kevin Johnson is scheduled to be executed on November 29 for the 2005 murder of a police officer. The 37-year-old, who has been incarcerated since his daughter Khorry Ramey was two years old, has requested that she attend the execution, and the 19-year-old has expressed a desire to do so.
A 19-year-old has requested a federal court for permission to witness her father’s execution in Missouri.
Kevin Johnson is scheduled to be executed on November 29 for the 2005 murder of a police officer.
The 37-year-old, who has been incarcerated since his daughter Khorry Ramey was two years old, has asked that she witness his execution, and she has expressed a desire to do so.
The law of Missouri prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from witnessing an execution.
Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed an emergency motion with a federal court in Kansas City, alleging that the statute violates Ms. Ramey’s constitutional rights and serves no safety purpose.
In a court declaration, she referred to her father as “the most significant person in my life.”
“If my father were dying in the hospital, I would sit by his bed holding his hand and praying for him until he passed away, both as a source of comfort for him and as a vital part of my grieving process and for my peace of mind,” she added.
According to court documents, the two had developed a relationship through visits, phone calls, emails, and letters; and last month, she brought her newborn boy to prison to see his grandfather.
In the meantime, Johnson’s attorneys have filed petitions to delay the execution.
They assert racism played a part in the decision to seek the death penalty and in the jury’s decision to sentence him to death. His victim was white, whereas he is black.
In addition, his attorneys contended that he has a history of mental illness and was 19 years old at the time of the murder.
In 2005, the Supreme Court prohibited the execution of juvenile criminals who were under the age of 18 at the time of the offense.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office, however, stated in a court filing last week that there were no grounds for court intervention.
It stated, “The surviving victims of Johnson’s crimes have waited long enough for justice, and every day longer they must wait is a day they are denied the opportunity to finally find peace with their loss.”
William McEntee, a married father of three children, was one of several police officers dispatched to Johnson’s residence on 5 July 2005 to execute an arrest warrant for an alleged probation violation.
The congenital heart defect-afflicted 12-year-old brother of Johnson fainted and began having seizures. Later, he died in the hospital.
Johnson shot the officer many times when he returned to the neighborhood to investigate unrelated complaints of fireworks being set off.
