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37-year-old Kevin Johnson, who was convicted of killing a St. Louis police officer, was executed on November 29, 2022, by lethal injection.
Johnson, who ambushed and killed the police officer back in 2005, blamed him for the death of his younger brother. The officer was identified as William McEntee, who was 43 years old at the time.
Johnson was a resident of Missouri and was 19 years old when he received a death sentence. His lawyers did not contest the truth that he killed Officer William McEntee in 2005, but they argued that Johnson's race played a role in the fact that he received the death penalty.
Kevin Johnson was executed by lethal injection for killing an officer in 2005
Kevin Johnson received the lethal injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre on Tuesday night and was executed. He received the death sentence for the 2005 case where he murdered Kirkwood Police Sgt. William McEntee. McEntee was serving as a police officer in a St. Louis suburb.
On July 5, 2005, a few police officers went to Kevin’s place to serve an arrest warrant. Johnson was on probation then for charges of assaulting his girlfriend. Officer McEntee was one of the cops who had gone to Kevin’s place that day. The cops believed that he had violated probation.
On seeing the officers, Kevin Johnson reportedly woke his 12-year-old brother, who ran away to their grandmother’s house. Kevin’s brother was suffering from a congenital heart defect. On arriving at the neighboring house, the boy collapsed and started having a seizure.
According to Johnson, Officer McEntee did not allow his mother to enter the house to provide aid to his brother, resulting in his death. The same evening, McEntee returned to the same neighborhood to check on reports of fireworks. While he was questioning three children from his car, Kevin Johnson shot him from the passenger-side window. He was shot in the leg, torso, and head.
Johnson later returned to the spot and found out that McEntee was alive. McEntee was then shot from behind and in the back, which eventually killed him.
Witnesses recalled the incident and remembered Kevin saying,
“You killed my brother.”
Attorneys representing Kevin Johnson contended that he received the death penalty because of his race. The courts declined to entertain the contention and went ahead with the execution.
Rev. Darryl Gray, Johnson’s spiritual advisor, was beside him when he was injected with the lethal injection.
Gray said,
“We read scripture and had a word of prayer. He apologized again. He apologized to the victim’s family. He apologized to his family. He said he was looking forward to seeing his baby brother. And he said he was ready.”
Kevin Johnson refused to give a final statement and was pronounced dead at 7:40 pm CT on Tuesday.
Mary McEntee, the widow of William McEntee, thanked the prosecutors and said,
“When he left for work that day, we could not imagine that he would be executed by someone he gave his life to protect. Bill didn't get to fight for his life. He didn't have the chance to be heard before a jury, to decide whether he would live or die.”
Khorry Ramey, Johnson’s 19-year-old daughter, was only 2 years old when Kevin received the death sentence. She submitted a motion to witness her father’s execution. The lawsuit was eventually denied on November 25, 2022, because Missouri state law disallows anybody under 21 from witnessing an execution.
