Anthony Johnson was executed by the State of Alabama for the murder of Kenneth Cantrell
According to court documents Anthony Johnson and 2 accomplices would go to the home of Kenneth Cantrell. A gunfight would ensue where Kenneth Cantrell was shot and killed. Anthony Johnson was shot in the back
Anthony Johnson was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Anthony Johnson would be executed by lethal injection on December 12 2002
It was determined that Anthony Johnson did not fire the fatal shot however he was the only one convicted of the murder
Anthony Johnson Photos
Anthony Johnson FAQ
When Was Anthony Johnson Executed
Anthony Johnson was executed on December 12 2002
Anthony Johnson Case
An inmate drew within hours of becoming the first Alabama prisoner put to death by lethal injection Thursday as police joined his attorney in seeking a stay of execution. Both the defense lawyer and investigators involved in the case said the execution should be halted in part to help bring remaining suspects to trial.
Anthony Keith Johnson, 46, was scheduled to die at 6 p.m. Thursday at Holman Prison near Atmore for his part in the 1984 slaying of Hartselle jeweler Kenneth Cantrell during a botched robbery. No one else has been prosecuted in the killing, including the triggerman. Defense attorneys sought a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, and they asked Gov. Don Siegelman to grant clemency for Johnson.
Alabama has executed inmates in the electric chair for decades, but a law enacted earlier this year made lethal injection the primary means of execution. Johnson opted for injection instead of the chair.
The state has acknowledged Johnson was not the triggerman, and his lawyers and some police claim his execution could prevent any future arrests of the person who actually shot Cantrell. Johnson and two other men went to Cantrell’s home on March 11, 1984. A gunfight broke out and Cantrell exchanged shots with his would-be robbers. Johnson was arrested when he sought treatment for a gunshot wound.
Johnson’s case first gained notoriety when authorities got a court order to remove a bullet lodged in his back to aid the prosecution effort. They concluded the bullet was consistent with the victim’s weapon. No other arrests were made. “Keith was the lookout,” said Deborah Forbes, Johnson’s lawyer. “He does not have entirely clean hands. But he was a tangential player, and the police have known this from the very beginning.”
Johnson gave police the names of the other people involved in the slaying years ago, Forbes said, and Cantrell’s widow could help identify the other killers. Former Hartselle Police Chief John Pat Orr said other people being involved did not diminish Johnson’s guilt, but his testimony would be “very helpful” to convict them. “Without Johnson’s testimony, the chance of the arrest and conviction of the other parties involved would be greatly diminished” by Johnson’s execution, he said.
Mike Ball, supervising agent for the Alabama Bureau of Investigation in Huntsville, said he wanted to reopen the case five years ago. “I hate the fact the others are getting a free ride,” Ball said. But Morgan County District Attorney Bob Burrell said Alabama law does not allow for a felony conviction based solely on the testimony of a co-conspirator. “This is not a case of mistaken identity but rather a situation of only one member of a gang of thieves being caught,” he said in a statement.
Forbes said the alleged triggerman lives in Huntsville. Alton Johnson, the inmate’s father, said his son didn’t testify against the accomplices because they had threatened his family. “I think it was fear, fear for his mother and myself and his brother,” said Alton Johnson. Harold Newell, the state investigator who handled the case, said Johnson offered four years ago to cooperate in bringing the others involved in the murder to trial. He believes that information should have been used to reopen the case. “I’d rather see the governor give him a stay and hopefully go after these others,” said Newell. “They are the ones that will breathe the biggest sigh of relief when Anthony Keith is executed.”
In the Supreme Court petition, Johnson’s lawyers contend that Alabama’s sentencing structure is unconstitutional. At Johnson’s trial, jurors voted 9-3 for life in prison without parole, but a Morgan County judge chose not to accept that recommendation and imposed the death sentence. In her filing with the Supreme Court, Johnson’s attorney cited a decision of the court in an Arizona case that held juries, not judges, must impose the death penalty. But Assistant Attorney General Clay Crenshaw contended the Arizona decision does not affect the Alabama cases because Alabama juries determine whether the accused is eligible for the death sentence when they debate the defendant’s guilt on a capital murder charge. Arizona, unlike Alabama, also gives juries no participation in sentencing, Crenshaw said.
