On Tuesday, a Missouri man who was convicted of killing a Kirkwood police officer in a fury in 2005 was executed by lethal injection.
Kevin Johnson was executed Tuesday night.
Johnson was convicted guilty of murdering Kirkwood Officer William McEntee in a frenzy about the death of Johnson’s brother. As per court filings, Johnson pinned the killing on cops.
While Johnson’s attorneys do not deny his guilt, they believe racism took a part in the decision to pursue the death penalty because Johnson is black and McEntee is white.
Johnson was 19 years old at the time of the murder. Because of his age, his counsel have requested the courts to intercede, since courts have gradually moved away from sentencing minor offenders to death since the Supreme Court outlawed the execution of criminals under the age of 18 at the time of their crime in 2005.
Johnson’s counsel have also requested the courts to halt the death due to his history of mental illness.
Khorry Ramey, Johnson’s 19-year-old daughter, was unable to witness her dad’s execution in the days preceding up to it.
The federal court who ruled over the request dismissed it based on a Missouri law that prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from seeing an execution.
McEntee, a husband and dad of three, was dispatched to Johnson’s house alongside other cops on July 5, 2005, to execute an arrest warrant. Johnson was on probation for beating his fiancée, and investigators suspected he had broken it.
Johnson awoke his 12-year-old brother, Joseph “Bam Bam” Long, who raced next door to their grandmother’s house when he saw the cops come. The youngster had a congenital heart problem and fell and started having seizures at his grandmother’s house.
Johnson said in court that McEntee barred his mom from entering the residence to assist his brother, who died a short time later in a hospital.
McEntee went to the neighborhood later that evening in reaction to fireworks being fired, and this is when he ran across Johnson for the second time that night.
Johnson drew his revolver and shot McEntee. Johnson then approached McEntee and shot him once again, this time fatally.
