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Johnson was sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering seven people in 1992 in connection with drug trafficking in Virginia. The weeks leading up to his execution were marked by a tense legal battle after contracting Covid-19 while in the death row.
In his closing statement, Johnson apologized for his crimes and told the families of the victims he hoped they would find peace. He also thanked the prison staff, the prison chaplain, his minister and his legal team.
“I would have said I was sorry before, but I didn’t know how. I hope you find peace,” he said, according to a statement released by his lawyers. “For my family, I’ve always loved you, and your love made me real. In the street, I looked for shortcuts, I had good role models, I was on the side, I was blind and stupid. I’m not. The same man as me. “
The Supreme Court on Thursday denied a last-minute effort by Johnson’s legal team that relied on claims of intellectual disability and his diagnosis of Covid-19, arguing that his infection associated with a lethal injection would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
The appeal came after an appeals court on Wednesday dismissed a lower court decision to stay the executions of Johnson and another death row inmate who contracted the virus, Dustin Higgs, whose execution is expected take place on Friday.
“Government must stop trying to execute Corey Johnson while still recovering from the COVID-19 infection he contracted due to the government’s own irresponsibility in carrying out executions during the pandemic “said Donald Salzman, an attorney for Johnson. in a statement earlier Thursday.
“There is no reason in principle not to wait for the injunction to expire in March to determine whether Mr Johnson’s lungs have healed enough not to suffer excruciatingly during an execution.”
After Johnson’s death, his legal team mourned his death in a statement, saying he should never have been executed.
“We loved Corey Johnson, and we knew him as a gentle soul who never broke a rule in prison and who continued to try, despite his limitations, to pass the GED. His family and loved ones are in our hearts.” , his lawyers said. “We also wish to say that the fact that Corey Johnson should never have been executed cannot lessen the pain and loss suffered by the families of the victims in this case. We wish them peace and healing.”
Johnson’s legal team also said he had an IQ of 69, which would be lower than a standard proposed by the Supreme Court as a guide for states assessing whether such an execution met the cruel and unusual standards of punishment of the Constitution.
“He is an intellectually disabled person who cannot be executed under the Constitution,” Salzman said Thursday morning. “The government should withdraw Corey’s execution date, or President Trump should grant him clemency.”
According to the US Department of Justice, Johnson and several co-conspirators were partners between 1989 and 1992 in a “great drug trafficking plot” based in Richmond, Virginia.
As part of their operation, the department said, Johnson murdered seven people for “perceived clashes or rivalry in drug trafficking” – Peyton Johnson, Louis Johnson, Bobby Long, Dorothy Armstrong, Anthony Carter, Linwood Chiles and Curtis Thorne. Johnson stated each name in his closing statement, saying, “I want these names remembered.”
Johnson was convicted of seven counts of capital murder in 1993, with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia unanimously recommending seven death sentences.
Thursday’s execution, six days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, coincides with a further push by more than three dozen members of Congress to make Biden’s new administration prioritize the abolition of the sentence death in all jurisdictions.
As Biden pledged to abolish the federal death penalty and urge states to stop seeking the death penalty as part of his criminal justice plan, 40 members of Congress want to ensure the practice ends on the first day of his term.
As part of his final words, Johnson referred to his last meal.
“The pizza and the strawberry shake were wonderful, but I didn’t get the jelly-filled donuts I ordered,” he said. “What is this? It should be fixed.”
This story has been updated with Johnson’s final statement and a statement from his lawyers.
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