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JEFFERSON CITY – A former Missouri governor urges the current occupant of the office to grant clemency to a convicted killer who is days away from execution.
Democrat Bob Holden was elected in 2000 and served one term. In a comment for the Independent from MissouriHolden notes that he supports capital punishment in principle, as evidenced by the 20 executions that took place during his tenure.
But Holden writes that Republican Gov. Mike Parson should stop the execution of Ernest Johnson, scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Bonne Terre State Prison.
Holden writes that he agrees with defenders who say Johnson is intellectually and developmentally disabled. The US Constitution prohibits the execution of the mentally handicapped.
Parson was still weighing mercy on Friday. Johnson’s attorneys have also asked the Missouri Supreme Court to reconsider the case.
Johnson is said to be the first Missouri inmate to be put to death since May 2020.
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