EXECUTED JANUARY 2002 

BY FAX: 573-751-1495

January 7, 2002

The Honorable Bob Holden
Missouri Capitol Building, Room 216
P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0720

Re: James Johnson

Dear Governor Holden:

On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, we urge you to stay the execution of James Johnson and to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment without parole. Mr. Johnson is currently scheduled to be executed on January 9, 2002.  Such relief is merited by the circumstances of Mr. Johnson's case.  First, Mr. Johnson received abysmal legal representation at trial which compromised his ability to effectively present strong evidence that he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when he committed the crime.  Second, Mr. Johnson has, before and since the tragedy, been exemplary in his conduct -- a model prisoner and spiritual leader.

Mr. Johnson's trial attorneys failed to conduct a basic investigation into the facts that they were asserting to the jury in support of Mr. Johnson's claim that his crime was the result of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Despite having other evidence that would show that Johnson suffered from this mental illness, his lawyer chose instead to highlight other speculative evidence in opening arguments.  Even a minimal investigation would have revealed that the facts that he relied upon would not withstand scrutiny.

To advance the argument that Mr. Johnson suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, defense counsel focused the jury's attention on evidence of tin cans strung around the perimeter of the Johnson home; the fact that the tires of Johnson's car had been flattened and that a baked potato had been eaten. Defense counsel argued that these facts demonstrated that their client was acting out a combat related flashback to his service in Vietnam. Had defense counsel exercised any diligence in preparing this argument, they would have learned that highway patrol troopers set up the cans, flattened the tires and even ate the potato that they relied on so heavily before the jury.

Once, the prosecution demonstrated that defense counsel's circumstantial evidence was  completely unfounded, the jury dismissed the credible evidence of Mr. Johnson's mental illness, including the testimony of medical experts. In brief, the incredible incompetence of his trial lawyers denied Mr. Johnson a fair hearing on the true evidence of his mental illness. Had the jury not been so biased against Mr. Johnson's assertions of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, they might well have decided against a death sentence in this case.

Finally, and most significantly, Mr. Johnson has been a model prisoner during his incarceration. He has not had any violations of prison rules. He has been very active in prison ministry, serving as a spiritual advisor to prisoners, chapel assistant, counselor, and music leader. Mr. Johnson's unmarred record before the crime and his conduct since further underscores the likelihood that the crime was the result of a tragic episode of mental illness.

Under the United States Constitution, Mr. Johnson had the right to counsel who would be competent in presenting his case and protecting his rights. Mr. Johnson's lawyers failed miserably to meet this standard and his death sentence is the direct result.

The ACLU opposes capital punishment in all cases as a barbarous anachronism and in violation of the Constitution. Given the irrevocable consequences of a death sentence, we submit that Missouri should afford Mr. Johnson full consideration for his plea to commute his sentence to life in prison without parole.

Sincerely,

Diann Rust-Tierney
ACLU Capital Punishment Prject

MAtt LeMieux
ACLU of Eastern Missouri

Bart T. East*
Pro Bono Counsel
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P.
1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
P.O. Box 407
Washington, DC 20044-0407

*  Admitted to practice in New Jersey.  Admittance to the District of Columbia Bar pending.