On Friday, a federal judge denied a 19-year-old girl’s request to watch the state of Missouri carry out her father’s execution.
Khorry Ramey asked for the court’s approval to be present for Kevin Johnson’s final moments. Johnson was sentenced to die for the 2005 killing of a police officer.
Missouri law requires witnesses to an execution to be at least 21 years old. Missouri is one of two states, along with Nevada, with such a law on the books.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit claiming the law was unconstitutional on Ramey’s behalf, according to NBC News. But US District Judge Brian Wimes ruled that Ramey failed to show “unconstitutionality.”
“I’m heartbroken that I won’t be able to be with my dad in his last moments,” Ramey said in a statement, adding that he “has worked very hard to rehabilitate himself in prison. I pray that [Gov. Mike] Parson will give my dad clemency.”
Johnson is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Tuesday for a crime that he committed while he was 19, the same age his daughter is now. The irony of which is not lost on Johnson’s legal team.
“It’s ironic that Kevin was 19 years old when he committed this crime, and they are still trying to move forward with his execution, though they won’t allow his daughter, who is 19, [witness the execution] because she’s too young,” attorney Shawn Nolan said.
The Missouri Supreme Court will hear arguments for a stay of execution on Monday. If granted, Johnson’s execution would not be carried out on Tuesday.
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