Missouri man executed for 2002 abduction, killing of 6-year-old girl lured to abandoned factory
By DAVID A. LIEB
Associated Press
BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man who abducted and beat a 6-year-old girl to death at an abandoned factory two decades ago has been executed. Authorities say 45-year-old Johnny Johnson received a lethal injection Tuesday evening at a state prison in Bonne Terre. He was convicted of killing Casey Williamson in July 2002. Authorities say Johnson led the girl to an abandoned factory where he tried to sexually assault her before fatally beating her. The U.S. Supreme Court, with three justices dissenting, rejected a late defense request for a stay. Johnson’s lawyers had contended he was mentally incompetent to be executed. The inmate expressed remorse in a handwritten statement released earlier in the day.
