Missouri Supreme Court holds last minute hearing on Kevin Johnson death penalty case

ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Supreme Court will hear arguments on stopping the execution of Kevin Johnson. He was convicted of murdering a veteran Kirkwood police officer.

On Tuesday, November, 29 Kevin Johnson is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection. The Missouri Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether to stop the execution Monday, November 28.

Johnson was convicted in 2007 for killing a Kirkwood police sergeant Court documents said he killed William McEntee during a fit of rage over Johnson’s brother’s death, which be blamed on police.

Johnson’s attorneys claimed racism played a role in seeking the death penalty, and that it should also be reconsidered because he was a teenager at the time. Johnson’s daughter and several anti-death penalty activists are also calling for Johnson’s death sentence to be overturned. They are planning a rally outside the Missouri Supreme Court Monday morning.

Johnson’s teenage daughter, Khorry Rmaey, recently lost her efforts to witness her father’s death. She was challenging a Missouri state law that bars anyone under 21 from witnessing an execution.

Former St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, who prosecuted the case at the time, explained that the death penalty was appropriate in Johnson’s case because he ambushed and purposefully attacked McEntee.

McCulloch shared that Johnson shot the officer five times in the patrol car, which crashed, and then shot the officer two more times when he was pulled out of the car on his hands and knees.

“He’s been my only living parent for the majority of my life,” Ramey expressed. “My mom passed when I was four, so all I know is my dad.McEntee was a 19-year veteran of the force and left behind a wife and three children. His wife told the judge in 2008 when Johnson was sentenced – justice could only be served if Johnson paid with his own life.