Federal U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes has denied 19-Year-Old Khorry Ramey’s request to attend her father, Kevin Johnson’s execution.
According to the Associated Press, Judge Wimes denied Ramey’s request, maintaining a Missouri law prohibiting parties under 21 from witnessing an execution. The teen has reportedly been trying to be in attendance, as the American Civil Liberties Union filed an emergency motion with a federal court in Kansas City.
“I’m heartbroken that I won’t be able to be with my dad in his last moments,” she said in a recent statement.
Her father is reportedly set to be executed via injection on Nov. 29 for killing Kirkwood, Missouri, Police Officer William McEntee back in 2005. Johnson’s lawyers have appeals pending in an attempt to spare his life, as they’ve asked the court to intervene for reasons such as a history of mental illness and age. He was reportedly 19 when the crime occurred, and the justice system has moved away from sentencing teens to death since then.
At the time, the Supreme Court banned the execution of offenders who were under the age of 18 when they committed crimes. However, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office stated that there were no grounds for court intervention, a court filing to the U.S. Supreme Court indicated.
Not only have Johnson’s attorneys filed appeals seeking to stop the execution, but they’ve claimed that racism played a role in the decision to seek the death penalty; Johnson is Black while the slain officer, McEntee, was white. Ramey said she prayed that Gov. Michael Parson would grant her father clemency, but things didn’t go as she had hoped.
“My dad is the most important person in my life. He has been there for me my whole life, even though he’s been incarcerated,” she said.
The ACLU’s emergency motion said the age requirement violates Ramey’s constitutional rights, but Judge Wimes ruled that the law wouldn’t violate it. He also acknowledged that the law would cause emotional harm for her but that it was just one part of the court’s consideration.
