Today the Missouri Supreme Court denied #KevinJohnson's Habeas petition. The petition was 244 pages. No rationale for the denial was provided by the court.
This is not due process.
It's the epitome of premeditated murder.
Here are a few highlights from it:
"Racist statements infected jury deliberations during Johnson’s initial trial and prevented the jury from reaching a unanimous verdict instead of finishing with a 10-2 deadlock favoring second degree murder, and the error was not cured by a retrial at which a second jury convicted Johnson of first degree murder and sentenced him to death." meaning... Just how racist were these jurors? You have to read this habeus petition (pages 11 and on are telling). It's bad folks, and the courts basically just shrugged off this major violation of KJ's rights.
"The initial jury’s non-unanimous decision on first degree murder precludes the existence of any death-qualifying aggravating circumstances under the statutory sentencing framework as well as double jeopardy principles." meaning... KJ's first jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of second degree murder, which does not include death as a option for sentencing.
"Under the Eighth Amendment and its Missouri counterpart, Kevin Johnson is exempt from the death penalty in light of his age and significant mental impairments that diminish his moral culpability." meaning... It's unconstitutional to sentence individuals younger than 21 (at the time of the crime) to death.
We'll continue to say, #DeathIsNotJustice! #ClemencyForKJ! #NoMOExecutions!
