Edward Johnson was executed by the State of Georgia for the murder of a police officer
According to court documents Edward Johnson would sexually assault a sixty nine year old woman
Edward Johnson would also fatally shot police officer J.T Trest as he was attempting to escape
Edward Johnson would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Edward Johnson would be executed in the gas chamber on May 20 1987
There is a lot of doubt whether Edward Johnson was guilty of the sexual assault and the murder of the police officer. His case was featured in the documentary 14 Days In May
Edward Johnson Photos
Edward Johnson FAQ
When was Edward Johnson execution
Edward Johnson was executed on May 20 1987
How was Edward Johnson executed
Edward Johnson was executed by way of the gas chamber
Edward Johnson Case
This is an appeal from the Circuit Court of Leake County wherein Edward Earl Johnson, defendant/appellant, was indicted, tried and convicted for the June 2, 1979, capital murder of J.T. Trest, a police officer while acting within his official capacity. At the conclusion of the sentencing phase of Johnson’s trial, the jury, finding the mitigating circumstances of the crime insufficient *385 to outweigh the aggravating circumstances, sentenced Johnson to death. We affirm.
Sometime between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. on June 2, 1979, Sally Franklin, an elderly resident of Walnut Grove, was awakened by a knock at her back door. When she inquired as to who was there, a voice responded it was Fred Smith who had come to pay Clara’s Avon bill. Miss Franklin refused to open the door but told the person who identified himself as Fred Smith that he could slip the money under a window. A $20 bill was slipped through the window, whereupon she went to her bedroom to get change and then returned to the window where she delivered the change. The subject refused to leave until she retrieved a certain type of cologne Clara wanted. However, when Miss Franklin went to get the cologne, she heard the screen tearing. She ran back and met the subject at the door. A struggle ensued. Just before Miss Franklin lost consciousness, she heard Carmen Dennis, a boarder at her home. Miss Franklin identified her attacker at trial as Edward Earl Johnson.
Robert Wright, who lived about twenty yards from Miss Franklin, was awakened by two shots around 2:20 a.m. He noticed a light on in Miss Franklin’s kitchen, whereupon he slipped on his pants. Wright looked out the window again and saw a Buick automobile with an aerial on the back pass by. Mr. Wright then proceeded to Miss Franklin’s. After discovering Miss Franklin’s condition, Wright returned to his house and phoned the police. When he proceeded back to Miss Franklin’s he met Dorothy and Rufus Carol Graves, another neighbor of Miss Franklin, who had been phoned by Carmen Dennis.
Robert Wright and Rufus Graves walked down the street about fifteen yards from Miss Franklin’s home where they found J.T. Trest, the Town Marshal of Walnut Grove. Trest was lying face down in front of his patrol car. The car was parked at an angle facing Miss Franklin’s home. The motor was still running, the lights were on and the driver’s door open. Trest’s pistol holster had been pulled behind his back; however, his pistol, a .357 Magnum, was not seen. A .25-caliber pistol was discovered between Trest’s body and the curb.
Morris Tucker, who lived about a mile and a half from Miss Franklin, was informed of the incident by a phone call at 2:30 a.m. The bark of a dog prompted Tucker to look out his window where he saw a green automobile with tail lights across the rear and an antenna on the trunk disabled in front of his home. Another car arrived, whereupon a black male exited the stalled car. The second automobile then pushed the stalled vehicle in a northerly direction toward Madden.
Three bullets were removed from Trest’s body during an autopsy. One bullet perforated both lungs while another bullet penetrated the heart. Although Dr. Feather-stone opined either bullet could have produced death, he stated the wound to the right ear was the primary cause of death. The three bullets recovered produced a defect measuring about six millimeters in diameter or roughly the size of a .32 or .25-caliber pistol. The wound to the head was about twelve millimeters in diameter, which indicated the weapon was at least a .38-caliber or larger. All the wounds occurred within a relatively short period with the three smaller caliber wounds being sustained first.
Edward Johnson was picked up and questioned the following afternoon based upon information that officers received during their investigation. He was then taken to Miss Franklin’s house and his height compared to the height of an outside overhead light bulb which had been unscrewed by Miss Franklin’s attacker. Thereafter, he was questioned at city hall and released.
When it was discovered that Edward Johnson was seen in possession of a .25-caliber automatic pistol a week or so before the incident, appellant was asked to return to city hall on June 3, 1979, for further questioning. Appellant agreed to accompany Sheriff Joe Mack Thaggard and Rudolph Adcock to Jackson for the purpose of taking a polygraph examination. However, before *386 reaching Jackson, appellant told the officers he wanted to talk about it. He was advised of his rights, whereupon he gave an oral statement to the officers which was taperecorded. Appellant was placed under arrest and returned to the Leake County Sheriff’s Office where he was again advised of his rights and a statement taken from him. This statement, in which appellant admitted killing Officer Trest after the break-in at Miss Franklin’s home, was admitted into evidence and also led to the recovery of Officer Trest’s pistol.
A criminologist from the Mississippi Crime Lab opined that all three projectiles removed from Trest’s body were fired from the RG .25-caliber auto-loading pistol recovered at the scene of the crime by Sheriff Thaggard.
Appellant offered evidence of his good reputation for peace or violence in the community. Several witnesses also attested to appellant’s presence at a card game until 2:00 a.m. on June 2, 1979. However, the location of the card game was only five or six miles from Miss Franklin’s home.
https://law.justia.com/cases/mississippi/supreme-court/1982/53017-0-0.html
