Missouri man put to death for killing police officer in 2005

By JIM SALTER
Associated Press

BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man convicted of ambushing and killing a St. Louis area police officer he blamed in the death of his younger brother has been executed. Kevin Johnson was put to death by lethal injection Tuesday night at the state prison in Bonne Terre. He was 37. It was the state’s second execution this year. Johnson’s attorneys didn’t deny that he killed Kirkwood Police Officer William McEntee in 2005, but contended he was sentenced to death in part because he was Black. The courts and Republican Gov. Mike Parson declined to stop the execution.