Edward Earl Johnson
Edward Earl Johnson was a man convicted in 1979 at the age of 19 and subsequently executed by the U.S. state of Mississippi for the murder of a policeman, J.T. Trest, and the attempted rape of a 69-year-old woman, Sally Franklin. Throughout his eight years on death row, he continued to plead his innocence. Johnson was executed by gas chamber.
Life
Johnson was born on June 22, 1960, at the University of [Mississippi Medical Center] in Jackson, Mississippi. He was born six weeks premature and spent the first month of his life in an incubator at the hospital. He later lived in Walnut Grove, Carthage, Mississippi.Crime
In the early morning hours of June 2, 1979, 69-year-old Sally Franklin was assaulted in her own home after her attacker gained access via a window. Franklin later identified her attacker at trial as Edward Earl Johnson.Shortly after, a neighbor found the body of Town Marshall J.T. Trest on the ground near his patrol car, which was parked near Franklin's home. He had been shot three times and killed. Johnson was arrested that afternoon and later released. Suspicion against Johnson grew when it discovered that he had been seen in possession of a.25-caliber pistol a week earlier. Johnson was arrested again the next day, and gave a signed confession.
Execution
In spite of British lawyer Clive Stafford Smith's attempts for a reprieve, Johnson was executed. The documentary team was given access to him until minutes before the execution was carried out. A follow-up documentary by Stafford Smith claimed to prove conclusively that Johnson was innocent and had been framed by the police.Johnson was pronounced dead at 12:06 a.m. on May 20, 1987, after being put to death in the gas chamber of what was then called Parchman Prison Farm. His final statements echoed his wait for a stay of execution, he stated "Well, I guess no one is going to call. OK, let's get this over with." Don Cabana, the warden of Parchman Prison Farm following Johnson's execution, became outspoken about abolishing capital punishment, believing that an innocent man had been executed.
It was the second execution by the state of Mississippi since the Gregg v. Georgia decision, the first being that of Jimmy Lee Gray, and the 72nd overall in the United States.