JOHNSON, JAMES R.

DOB: April 18, 1949
Race: White
Gender: Male

County of conviction: Moniteau
Number of counts: Four
Race of victim: White/white/white/white
Gender of victim: Female/female/male/male
Date of crime: December 8, 1991
Date of sentencing: April 23, 1993
Date of execution: January 9, 2002

Legal status:

Trial Counsel:

Last counsel of record:
Charles W. Gordon, Jr.
Hubbell & Sawyer
106 W. 14th St., 12th Floor
Kansas City, MO 64105
816-221-5666

Patrick J. Berrigan
Watson & Dameron
2500 Holmes Road
Kansas City, MO 64108
816-474-3350

Last judicial decision:

--Eighth Circuit's unpublished denial of a certificate of appealability and dismissal of the appeal following the district court's unpublished denial of habeas relief (order dated June 14, 2000, rehearing denied Aug. 29, 2000)

Reported Opinions:

--Conviction, sentence and denial of post-conviction relief affirmed by State v. Johnson, 968 S.W.2d 123 (Mo. banc), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 935 (1998).

Significant legal issues:

--trial counsel's failure to interview key prosecution witnesses prior to trial, and his resulting blatant misstatement of the evidence during his opening statement, which undermined Mr. Johnson's mental health defense

--counsel's presentation of mitigating evidence that Mr. Johnson was from a "good, Christian family" despite evidence that he was actually from a cold and unloving family

--Eight Circuit's denial of a certificate of appealability, in light of Justice White's lengthy dissent from the Missouri Supreme Court opinion affirming the conviction and denial of post-conviction relief

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