ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) – Kevin Johnson, 37, faces execution by lethal injection for the killing of Kirkwood Police Sgt. William McEntee. The execution is set for November 29, but last-minute legal efforts seek to spare his life.
“It would mean the world to me because I have a son that needs his papa and I’m a daughter who needs her dad,” said Corionsa Ramey, the 19-year-old daughter of Johnson.
Ramey and others are holding out hope for a stay in the execution.
On Monday afternoon, the Missouri Supreme Court will hear motions seeking to stay the execution. Governor Mike Parson could also grant clemency which would result in Johnson spending the rest of his life in prison.
“He was a 19-year-old kid who made a horrible mistake, and he is definitely remorseful, and he deserves to live,” said Michelle Smith, spokesperson for Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
On July 5, 2005, Johnson shot and killed McEntee, 43. McEntee was a 20-year veteran of the department, a husband and father of three children.
News 4 reached out to members of the McEntee family and the Kirkwood Police Department, but they declined to comment on the pending execution.
Johnson’s daughter has filed an emergency motion to be present for her father’s execution if it goes on as scheduled.
In Missouri, a person under the age of 21 is barred from witnessing an execution.
Smith says if a person can be sentenced to death at 19, his family member has the right to witness when the state executes her father.
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