Kevin Johnson execution: Daughter denied request to watch father die by lethal injection
A teenager has been denied permission to witness her father die by lethal injection in Missouri after a judge upheld a law that states she is too young.
Kevin Johnson, 37, faces execution on Tuesday, 29 November for shooting a police officer in 2005, when he was 19.
His daughter, Corionsa “Khorry” Ramey, was two when Johnson was detained over the killing of William McEntee in Kirkwood, Missouri.
An emergency lawsuit was filed on behalf of Ms Ramey, now 19, by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asking a federal court to allow her to watch her father’s final moments.
Johnson put his daughter on a list of witnesses to attend the execution – and she wants to attend.
But Missouri law states no person under 21 can witness an execution.
ACLU argued the statute violates Ms Ramey’s constitutional rights and serves no purpose, adding that the age threshold is “not reasonable”.
However, US district judge Brian Wimes has now ruled against the teenager and said it is in the public interest to “allow states to enforce their laws and administer state prisons without court intervention”.
In a written ruling, the judge said the lawsuit had failed to demonstrate “unconstitutionality”.
Ms Ramey said in a statement: “I’m heartbroken that I won’t be able to be with my dad in his last moments”, adding that Johnson has “worked very hard to rehabilitate himself in prison”.
The teenager is now pinning her hopes on Missouri’s Republican governor, Mike Parson, granting her father clemency.
The ACLU called on the state of Missouri to “do right” by Ms Ramey, tweeting: “A federal judge has denied Ramey’s request to witness her father Kevin Johnson’s execution.
“There is no dignity in a state killing its residents – and the state of Missouri can still do right by Khorry if the governor grants her father clemency.”
Johnson’s lawyer, Shawn Nolan, told journalists: “It’s ironic that Kevin was 19 years old when he committed this crime and they still want to move forward with this execution, but they won’t allow his daughter, who’s 19 at this time, in because she’s too young.”
Legal bid to stop execution
Legal representatives for Johnson have also filed appeals seeking to halt his execution.
They do not contest his guilt – but claim racism affected the decision to seek the death penalty, and the jury’s decision to sentence him to die, over the killing of Mr McEntee, who was white.
Lawyers also say Johnson had a history of mental illness.
Mr McEntee, a married father-of-three, was among several officers dispatched to Johnson’s home to serve an arrest warrant on 5 July, 2005, for an alleged probation violation.
Johnson’s brother, 12, who suffered a congenital heart defect, collapsed and began having a seizure.
He later died in hospital.
When Mr McEntree returned to the area to investigate unrelated reports of fireworks being set off, Johnson shot the officer several times.
According to non-profit campaign group, Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Johnson’s “abusive childhood” and the sudden death of his younger brother led to his “regrettable actions”.
“Kevin Johnson is a loving father and grandfather, even from prison, he’s dedicated to be the best dad that he could and has remained a positive and steadfast presence in his daughter’s life,” the organisation tweeted.
Kevin Johnson. Pic: Missouri Department of Corrections via AP
‘I would stick by his side and hold his hand’
In an earlier news conference ahead of the judge’s ruling, Ms Ramey said she wanted to attend the execution for “peace of mind” and as a part of the grieving process.
She has remained close to her father, despite his incarceration.
Ms Ramey said: “I am my dad’s closest living relative and he is mine, other than my baby son.
“If my dad were dying in hospital, I would stick by his side and hold his hand, praying until his death.”
The nursing assistant travelled to Missouri’s Potosi Correctional Centre to introduce her son, Kiaus, to his grandfather after giving birth in September.
“It was a beautiful but bittersweet moment to me because I realised it might be the only time my dad would get to hold (his) grandson”, she said.
Ms Ramey’s attorney, Corene Kendrick, said the issue of a person’s age prohibiting them from watching an execution arises rarely.
Nevada is the only other state to have an age limit of 21, while the federal government and other states have no age restriction or a requirement people in attendance should be at least 18.
Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch, two Wall Street Journal reporters and the publication’s owner, News Corp.
The US president has accused the named individuals of defamation, claiming they acted with malicious intent and caused him overwhelming financial and reputational harm.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Miami, seeks at least $10bn (£7.5bn) in damages.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump called the lawsuit “historic legal action” which was filed on behalf of himself and all Americans who he said will “no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media”.
“I hope Rupert and his ‘friends’ are looking forward to the many hours of depositions and testimonies they will have to provide in this case,” he wrote.
It comes after Mr Trump claimed that a letter he allegedly wrote to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was “fake” and said he would sue the “ass off” Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which first published the story.
The publication had said Mr Trump wrote the letter as part of a collection Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, planned to give him as a 50th birthday present in 2003.
It claimed the message, allegedly from Mr Trump, featured several lines of typewritten text, concluding with: “May every day be another wonderful secret.”
The text was framed by what appeared to be a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman, the WSJ claimed. The letter is also said to have featured the signature “Donald”.
Mr Trump immediately denied writing the letter when the WSJ report was published on Thursday night.
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Memes of Epstein undermine victims, says lawyer
“The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures. I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper.”
Mr Trump ignored questions about Epstein as he signed a cryptocurrency bill at the White House earlier on Friday.
The president’s lawsuit comes as the US government filed a motion to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Epstein, who took his own life while awaiting trial in 2019.
In a Manhattan federal court filing, the Department of Justice said the criminal cases against Epstein and Maxwell are a matter of public interest, justifying the release of associated grand jury transcripts.
Earlier on Friday, Mr Trump said attorney general Pam Bondi had been asked to release the transcripts because of “the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein”.
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The justice department previously said it had around 200 documents relating to Epstein and that the FBI had thousands more.
It is unknown how much of this is grand jury testimony, which is typically kept secret under US law.
Read more:
All we know about the ‘friendship’
Trump denies writing birthday letter to Epstein
The president has faced increased scrutiny over his alleged friendship with Epstein since his administration’s U-turn on the so-called ‘Epstein files’.
Mr Trump pledged to release files on Epstein during his presidential campaign, as his MAGA movement accused the Biden administration of suppressing the extent of Epstein’s paedophilia, predatory behaviour and his so-called “client list” – thought to contain names of the rich and famous who conspired with him in his child sex trafficking operation.
But after a review of the evidence the US government has, the Justice Department recently determined that no “further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted”.
Venezuela releases jailed Americans in prisoner swap
The Trump administration said on Friday that it had negotiated an exchange with Venezuela, resulting in the release of 10 jailed Americans.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the prisoners, who had been held in the South American country, were “on their way to freedom”.
Men in the CECOT jail in EL Salvador. Pic: Reuters
In return, 252 Venezuelan migrants being held in El Salvador have been freed, the Venezuelan government said.
They had been held in the notorious maximum security CECOT prison after being deported by the US.
US
Trump denies claim he wrote birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein – and says he has ordered release of more case files
Donald Trump has called an alleged letter he wrote to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein “fake” and said he will sue the “ass off” Rupert Murdoch, who owns the paper that first published the claim.
In multiple posts on Truth Social, the US president accused The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) of fabricating the letter that it claimed was written by Mr Trump as part of a collection of letters addressed to Epstein that his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell planned to give him as a birthday present in 2003.
According to documents seen by the WSJ, Mr Trump’s letter featured several lines of typewritten text framed by what appeared to be a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman.
The paper said the letter concludes “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret”, and featured the signature “Donald”, allegedly drawn across the woman’s waist, meant to mimic the appearance of pubic hair.
Epstein took his own life in prison in 2019. Pic: AP
Responding to the WSJ’s claims, Mr Trump wrote: “The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein. These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures.
“I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DJT.”
He said earlier he would also sue the WSJ and News Corp, which Mr Murdoch owns. The WSJ is published by News Corp subsidiary company, Dow Jones & Co.
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From 16 July: Trump: Epstein case is ‘a boring story’
The Justice Department has not responded to the WSJ and the FBI declined to comment.
In a separate post, Mr Trump said he has asked the attorney general, Pam Bondi, to release “any and all pertinent grand jury testimony” in the case of the paedophile financier who was found dead in his Manhattan cell in August 2019, shortly after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges.
The release of any documents, Mr Trump said, would be subject to approval by a court.
The justice department has previously said it had around 200 documents relating to Epstein and that the FBI had thousands more. It is unknown how much of this is grand jury testimony – which is typically kept secret under US law.
Ms Bondi responded to the president on X, writing: “President Trump-we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.”
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Elon Musk, who claimed last month that Mr Trump appears in the Epstein files, was surprisingly among the first to come to the president’s defence over the WSJ claims.
“It really doesn’t sound like something Trump would say tbh,” the tech billionaire wrote on X, before going on to ask where the evidence against Epstein allegedly held by the FBI had gone.
The Trump administration has come under criticism after the president appeared to U-turn on his own promise to release more information about the Epstein case publicly.
In the run-up to the US election last year, Mr Trump drew on rumours and conspiracy theories that appeared to accuse the Biden administration of suppressing the extent of Epstein’s paedophilia, predatory behaviour and his so-called “client list” – thought to contain names of the rich and famous who conspired with him in a child sex trafficking operation.
Ms Bondi fuelled these rumours in February by telling Fox News that the alleged Epstein client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review”.
Read more:
Ghislaine Maxwell could challenge imprisonment
Why is Trump fighting with MAGA over Epstein?
The huge impact of Musk’s row with Trump
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In the same month, the justice department released some government documents regarding the case, but there were no new revelations.
After a months-long review of additional evidence, the department earlier this month released a video meant to prove that Epstein killed himself, but said no other files related to the case would be made public.
The decision was criticised by many in Mr Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, who Mr Trump later called “weaklings”.
Sky News has contacted the White House for further comment.
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