Supreme Court Denies Stay, Kevin Johnson Executed

One day after the Supreme Court voted 5-2 against a request for a stay of execution, the state of Missouri put Kevin Johnson to death. Johnson argued through a special prosecutor that racial discrimination played a role in his prosecution of the murder of a police officer. The lawyer maintained that there was a “long-standing and pervasive racial bias” in the St. Louis county prosecutors’ handling of this case, including what charges to file and which jurors to strike. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office argued against a stay, saying the claim was without merit. Governor Mike Parson later denied a request for clemency from Johnson’s attorneys.

Johnson was the second person executed in Missouri this year. Two more executions are scheduled in the upcoming months. Missouri is the fifth-highest state in the nation for executions at 93 individuals.