US Supreme Court Declines to Halt Execution of Missouri Man With 'Severe Mental Illness'

Mr. Johnson has suffered from severe mental illness and cognitive impairments his entire life. He has organic brain disorder and experienced a brutally traumatic and adverse childhood that involved psychiatric hospitalizations, and suffers from schizophrenia that consistently features hallucinations, delusions, and psychotic disorganized thought. He was in the grips of active psychosis when he committed the offense for which he is scheduled to be executed.

There is extensive evidence that Mr. Johnson does not have a rational understanding of the reasons for his execution. As such, he is entitled by the Constitution to a"fair hearing" to assess his competency. This is true notwithstanding the Missouri Supreme Court's flawed ruling relying on a single affidavit by a prison therapist over the competency evaluation and report by a licensed psychiatrist.

After being released from a mental hospital in January 2002, Johnson was staying with family friends in Valley Park that July and killed their 6-year-old daughter, Casey Williamson. A jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, kidnapping, and attempted rape in January 2005 and two months later a judge sentenced him to death.

"I never said I didn't want Johnny Johnson to die," he said."I would love to see him die a miserable death."

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