State to carry out sentence against Ernest Lee Johnson

JEFFERSON CITY, MO –Today, Governor Mike Parson confirmed that the state of Missouri will carry out the sentence of Ernest Lee Johnson on Tuesday, Oct. 5 as ordered by the Supreme Court of Missouri.

“The state is prepared to deliver justice and carry out the lawful sentence Mr. Johnson received in accordance with the Missouri Supreme Court’s order,” Governor Parson said.

“Mr. Johnson was tried and convicted for the brutal murder of three innocent victims during a robbery in 1994,” the statement from the Governor’s office continued.  “The evidence showed Mr. Johnson went to great lengths to plan and conceal his crime. Three juries have reviewed Mr. Johnson’s case and recommended a sentence of death. Mr. Johnson’s claim that he is not competent to be executed has been reviewed and rejected by a jury and the courts six different times, including a unanimous decision by the Missouri Supreme Court.”

Numerous people, including Pope Francis, have called for the execution to be halted because Johnson is intellectually disabled and his execution would violate his Constitutional Rights.

The execution would be just the seventh in the United States this year.