Missouri teenager begs court to let her watch father's execution

Luke Gentile

November 22, 07:09 PM November 22, 07:13 PM

A Missouri teenager is petitioning a federal court to let her watch her father be executed via lethal injection.

State law in Missouri bars anyone below the age of 21 from watching an execution be carried out, but 19-year-old Khorry Ramey wants to see her father, Kevin Johnson, executed on Nov. 29, according to a report.

Johnson was sentenced to death for the 2005 killing of Kirkwood police officer William McEntee, and his attorneys have filed multiple appeals to spare his life.

WOMAN WHO MURDERED PREGNANT VICTIM TO STEAL UNBORN CHILD GETS DEATH PENALTY

These include a claim that racism was a motive behind Johnson's death sentence and a history of mental illness.

However, the execution is expected to be carried out, according to a court filing from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which argued there were zero grounds for intervention.

"The surviving victims of Johnson’s crimes have waited long enough for justice, and every day longer that they must wait is a day they are denied the chance to finally make peace with their loss," the petition stated.

Ramey says if she is barred from witnessing her father's death, it will violate her constitutional rights.

Johnson is "the most important person in my life," she said. "If my father were dying in the hospital, I would sit by his bed holding his hand and praying for him until his death, both as a source of support for him, and as a support for me as a necessary part of my grieving process and for my peace of mind."

There is no intrinsic safety reason for barring her, an emergency motion filed by the American Civil Liberties Union read.

Johnson, 37, was sent to prison when Ramey was 2, but the two have bonded through calls, emails, letters, and visits, according to the ACLU.

Last month, Ramey introduced her newborn to the child's grandfather, the report noted.

Ramey will be caused "irreparable harm" if she is unable to attend her father's death, ACLU attorney Anthony Rothert said.

Alabama halts execution after problem establishing IV

Shana Donahue

November 18, 02:54 AM November 18, 02:54 AM

Alabama called off the scheduled execution of a man convicted in a 1988 murder-for-hire after having trouble establishing venous access in time to meet the state's deadline to start the execution. This marks the second time since September the state has canceled an execution due to difficulties placing an IV with a deadline looming.

Earlier Thursday, Kenneth Eugene Smith was issued a stay of execution by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after he raised concerns about problems with vein access at the state’s last two scheduled lethal injections.

MORE SQUEEGEES, MORE BALTIMORE SHOOTINGS

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order lifting the stay around 10:20 p.m., about 90 minutes before the state’s midnight deadline to get the execution underway.

Prison staff tried for about an hour to connect the two required intravenous lines to Smith, but were only able to establish one, Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm told the .

After unsuccessfully trying to establish a second line, officials decided to try a central line, which involves placing a catheter into a large vein, Hamm said.

“We were not able to have time to complete that, so we called off the execution,” Hamm said.

Smith, 57, was sentenced to death for his role in the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Sennett.

According to prosecutors, Smith was one of two men hired to kill Sennett on behalf of her husband, who was in debt and wanted to collect the insurance payout.

On March 18, 1988, Sennett was found dead in the couple’s home in Colbert County, Alabama.

Her husband, Charles Sennett Sr., a pastor of the Westside Church of Christ, killed himself about a week after his wife’s death when the investigation began to focus on him, according to court documents.

John Forrest Parker, the other man convicted in the killing, was executed in 2010.

“Some three decades ago, a promise was made to Elizabeth’s family that justice would be served through a lawfully imposed death sentence,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) said in a statement following the cancellation of the execution.

“Although that justice could not be carried out tonight because of last minute legal attempts to delay or cancel the execution, attempting it was the right thing to do,” the statement continued. “My prayers are with the victim’s children and grandchildren as they are forced to relive their tragic loss.”