JOHNSON, JOHNNY

DOB: March 16, 1970
Race: White
Gender: Male

County of conviction: St. Louis
Number of counts: 1 (not including non-homicide counts)
Race of victim: White
Gender of victim: Female
Date of crime: July 26, 2002
Date of sentencing: March 7, 2005
Trial Counsel: Beth Kerry and Berry Bermdiek

Legal status:

• State post conviction action pending in circuit court

• Petition for Writ of Certiorari denied in Johnson v. Missouri, ___ S.Ct. ___, 2007 WL 904537 (May 29, 2007).

Current counsel:

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Reported Opinions:

• Petition for Writ of Certiorari denied in Johnson v. Missouri, ___ S.Ct. ___, 2007 WL 904537 (May 29, 2007).
   
• Trial court’s imposition of death affirmed by Missouri Supreme Court, SC86689, State v. Johnson, 207 S.W.3d 24 (Mo. 2006).

• Raised in his appeal:

        (1)   The trial court erred in overruling his Batson challenges to the State's peremptory strikes of an African-American male juror and an Asian female juror;

        (2) the trial court erred in precluding defense counsel from asking prospective jurors whether, knowing that first-degree murder is a coolly-reflected-upon, deliberated killing, they could consider a sentence of life imprisonment without probation or parole;

        (3) the trial court erred in allowing the state to elicit evidence of uncharged crimes of "stalking" children in the days preceding Casey's murder over his objections;

        (4) the trial court erred in submitting a voluntary intoxication instruction, Instruction 6, over his objections;

        (5) the trial court erred in overruling his motion to suppress statements he made to Detective Newsham;

        (6) the trial court erred in overruling his objections and submitting Instruction 23, the statutory aggravator that the murder "was outrageously or wantonly vile";

        (7) the trial court erred in overruling his new trial motion and sentencing him to death;

        (8) the trial court erred in overruling his objections to Instructions 24 and 26 because they did not properly instruct the jury about how to weigh the mitigating and aggravating factors presented;

        (9) the trial court erred in overruling his motion to quash the information or, alternatively, preclude the death penalty and death sentence;

        (10) the trial court plainly erred in failing to admonish the prosecutor and give a corrective instruction when he stated in guilt phase closing argument that the jury should "for once" hold Johnson responsible.

    Also:

        Mr. Johnson presented a diminished capacity defense, asserting that he was unable to deliberate at the time of the crime, due to schizo- affective disorder. In rebuttal, the state alleged that Mr. Johnson was experiencing psychosis due to methamphetamine, and the court gave the jury on a voluntary instruction claim, which Mr. Johnson alleges is error.

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