Edward Earl Johnson
Edward E. Johnson was a Black man executed by the State of Mississippi in the gas chamber at Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman on May 20, 1987, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections. His former lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, says Johnson maintained his innocence and that the execution took about 15 minutes. Smith says a woman later came forward saying she was with Johnson at the time of the events in question, and that police did not act on her statement. Smith recalls that before his execution Johnson whispered to him, asking whether there was something he did not know, because he genuinely thought they still would not kill him. Smith says he still thinks of Johnson and went to his funeral.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. His former lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, says Johnson maintained his innocence and that police did not act on a woman's statement that she was with him at the time of the killing.
Reported by: Mississippi Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Clive Stafford Smith, his former lawyer (family or their lawyers).