Kevin Johnson is scheduled to be executed by the State of Missouri on November 29th at 6:00 pm at ERDCC Prison in Bonne Terre, MO, for the 2005 murder of William McEntee. Johnson is a father, grandfather, brother, son, cousin and beloved member of the community. He experienced a life of abuse and trauma and has shown great remorse for the crime he committed in the heat of the moment after watching officers walk over his dying brother just hours before. Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP) will hold execution watches across the state on Tuesday, November 29th where communities will gather in solidarity to oppose the execution of Kevin Johnson:
Jefferson City - Noon, Governor’s Office, 2nd Floor Missouri State Capitol, The Missouri Catholic Conference. Contact Rita Linhardt at linhardtr@mocatholic.org.
St. Louis- 3:00 PM, St. Louis City Cir Court, Market and Tucker, Will carpool to Bonne Terre, MO following. Contact Margaret: mphillips@igc.org
KCMO - 4:00 - 5:00 pm, 39th, and Troost. Contact Bob at ronan@ieee.org for more info.
Columbia - 5:00 - 6:15 pm, Boone County Courthouse. Columbia Chapter MADP, Fellowship of Reconciliation. Contact Jeff Stack at 573-449-4585
Bonne Terre - starting at 5:00 pm, Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (ERDCC), Execution Vigil and Remembrance of Victims of Violent Crime.
Missouri will be “on watch” on November 29th because our legal system fails to bring justice and serves only to further harm, particularly in our response to murder.
“Kevin Johnson is the face of racism in the criminal process in Missouri The MOSC heard evidence that the prosecutor, in this case, intended to eliminate Black people from the jury and yet refused to give a stay. This is a sad day for all Missourians. Kevin Johnson does not deserve the ultimate punishment.” Nimrod Chapel, Jr., MO NAACP
“Johnson is not the person portrayed by the media and prosecutors. We need a response to crime that does not perpetuate the cycle of violence. The death penalty is rife with errors and inconsistencies, fails to deter crime, and has a steep cost in not only financial but human terms. Death is not justice, and we should not execute this man,” Elyse Max, Co-Director, MADP
“The emotional roller coaster of excitement when a legislative reform is passed and disappointment, when the judiciary rules against what the reform is meant to alleviate, it reminds me that justice is not just and terms like equity & fairness are wholly empty in the executive & judicial branches of the state of Missouri. Until those phenomena are not only legislated but carried out by the executive branch and ruled favorably in the judiciary, the lives of the poor, marginalized and vulnerable of this state do not matter. My heart goes out to Kevin's family, especially his daughter, in this difficult moment.” Michelle Smith, MADP