A Missouri man will be executed despite the fact that he is intellectually disabled and has the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, as an advocate.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has refused to stop the execution of Ernest Johnson and attorneys are now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Johnson was convicted of killing three people during a robbery in 1994 and admitted to killing the three convenience store employees with the claw of a hammer. However, attorneys have argued that Johnson’s IQ, which is in the 70s, puts him at the same cognitive function as a 10-year-old child.
Attorneys argue that killing a man with the intellectual capacity of a child is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
“This is an incredibly sad case all the way around,” said Jeremy Weis, Johnson’s attorney, according to KMOV4. “It’s not a question of whether Ernest will be punished or whether he will be let out on the streets. If we are successful, what will happen is that the court will recognize what we all know to be true is that he’s intellectually disabled. The US Supreme Court has said that is a moral decision that these individuals who are like Ernest, are not as culpable. [He should] be allowed to spend the rest of his life in prison where he poses no threat.”
Recent rulings against Johnson note that he counted and sorted money after the robbery, and that he had the wherewithal to wear a mask during the crime.
According to the Associated Press, a representative for Pope Francis sent a letter to Gov. Parson saying that the Pope, “wishes to place before you the simple fact of Mr. Johnson’s humanity and the sacredness of all human life.”
In 2018, Pope Francis changed church teaching to say that capital punishment can never be sanctioned because it constitutes an “attack” on human dignity.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) also appealed to Gov. Parson saying that executing Johnson is a “crime against humanity.”
Johnson requested to be executed by firing squad which is not allowed under Missouri law. However, during lethal injection, the use of pentobarbital could trigger seizures due to his loss of brain tissue after having a benign tumor removed in 2008, according to the AP.
Per the Daily Mail, the former governor of the state, Bob Holden, also appealed to Parson saying: “As one of just a few living people who understand the multiple pressures of the office, I am also compelled by conscience and fidelity to democracy to respectfully urge the governor to stay the execution and commute Johnson’s death sentence to life without the possibility of parole.”
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