Missouri death row inmate granted stay of execution following Catholic advocacy

St. Louis, Mo., Jul 26, 2023 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on Tuesday evening granted a stay of execution for Johnny Johnson, a St. Louis-area man who had been scheduled to die Aug. 1. 

Catholics in St. Louis and across Missouri had advocated for a stay of Johnson’s execution, citing the Church’s teaching on the admissibility of the death penalty as well as arguments from Johnson’s attorneys that he is not mentally fit to understand his punishment. 

Johnson, 45, was convicted of first-degree murder for killing 6-year-old Casey Williamson in 2002. His appeal for clemency was thrown out by the Missouri Supreme Court in June, and he was set to be executed by lethal injection prior to the court’s intervention. Johnson would have been the fourth person executed in Missouri this year. 

The 2002 killing took place just across the train tracks from Sacred Heart Parish in the town of Valley Park, which is located off Interstate 44 in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Johnson, a friend of the Williamson family, had lured Casey to an abandoned glass factory and attempted to sexually assault her. When she tried to escape, he killed her with bricks and rocks and buried her body in a pit less than a mile from her home. 

Father Robert “Rosy” Rosebrough, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish at the time, visited the Williamson family after Casey was killed to offer prayers, support, and the use of the parish church and cemetery at no cost, the St. Louis Review reported.

The Missouri Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s Catholic bishops, in a July 24 letter formally requested clemency on Johnson’s behalf, asking Republican Gov. Mike Parson to commute his sentence to life imprisonment without parole.

“Casey’s death was a tragic waste of life, and our hearts and prayers are with her family at this difficult time. Sadly, no punishment will restore her to her loved ones. Some may argue society needs the death penalty to protect life; we strongly believe, however, that society can adequately protect human life without capital punishment,” the letter, shared with CNA, reads.

“Looking beyond this particular case, as religious and civic leaders we are also concerned that the use of the death penalty promotes revenge as a principle of criminal justice. As imperfect human beings, the grace of God is not something we receive because we deserve it; rather, it is something he gives to us freely as an act of mercy. Likewise, although you may believe Mr. Johnson is deserving of capital punishment, we appeal to you as the governor of Missouri to commute his sentence to life without parole.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, reflecting an update promulgated by Pope Francis in 2018, describes the death penalty as “inadmissible” and an “attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” (No. 2267). The change reflects a development in Catholic doctrine in recent years. St. John Paul II, calling the death penalty “cruel and unnecessary,” encouraged Christians to be “unconditionally pro-life” and said that “the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil.”

A spokesperson for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said they will ask the appeals court to vacate the appeals court’s stay; Parson has not commented on Johnson’s request for clemency, Fox2 reported. 

The Catholic Mobilizing Network, a national advocacy organization that demonstrates against the death penalty, praised the appeal’s court’s July 25 action. 

“We give thanks to God every time an execution is halted, because all executions attack the sanctity of life. Today, we give thanks that Johnny Johnson will not be executed,” the network’s executive director, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, told CNA. 

“There is no doubt about Johnny’s guilt. But even as we acknowledge the grave harm that Johnny committed, even as we pray for his victim, Casey Williamson, we also must remember that our Church’s teaching upholds that Johnny’s life remains sacred.”

Murphy noted that Johnson’s attorneys have argued that Williamson is too mentally ill to understand his punishment and ​​was off his medications and likely in a state of psychosis when he committed the crime.

“These troubling facts about Johnny’s case are enough to shatter anyone’s confidence in the way our death penalty system operates. Executing someone who doesn’t understand why they’re being executed isn’t justice; it’s vengeance. Johnny Johnson should not be put to death. As we see in Johnny’s case, the system is too broken, too cruel, too disrespectful of human dignity.”

The victim’s father, Ernie Williamson, reportedly opposes Johnson’s execution. Johnson’s attorneys describe Williamson as “a deeply religious man, and he is guided by his faith, which directs love, not hate.”

St. Louis has a notable history when it comes to Catholic opposition to the death penalty. In January 1999, Pope John Paul II begged then-Gov. Mel Carnahan to spare the life of Darrell Mease, a notorious triple murderer who was scheduled to die soon after the visit. The very next morning, Carnahan — a Baptist and a staunch supporter of the death penalty — officially commuted Mease’s sentence to life in prison, despite weathering political backlash.