Edward Earl Johnson was executed in May 1987 for the June 1979 murder of law enforcement officer J.J. Trest. This documentary covers the last 14 days in his life, and includes interviews with the man himself as well as a young Clive Stafford Smith, who for the past three decades has made a career out of championing lost causes including murderess Linda Carty – currently on death row in Texas; and double killer Krishna Maharaj, who although no longer on death row is still pursuing a futile and ludicrous appeal.
Johnson was just as guilty, in spite of the de rigueur apologetics, and of course there is also a lot of contrived guff about him being black and his victim white, as if those were the only factors in his execution. Johnson did not testify at his trial, although he did confess to the crime.
The lengths his lawyers went to in order to avoid his execution were extraordinary. The May 1987 decision of the Fifth Circuit makes interesting reading; in dismissing Johnson's appeal, the court is scathing. The only ground on which Johnson might have been spared execution in Mississippi was his youth; he was not yet 19 when he shot Marshal Trest: three times in the body; twice in the head.
Although this documentary is sympathetic to Johnson, it is clear from the evidence presented that he was the author of his own misfortune. Whether or not the death penalty is inhumane, the alternative is hardly any more appealing, so the best policy seems to be don't commit murder.
Johnson was just as guilty, in spite of the de rigueur apologetics, and of course there is also a lot of contrived guff about him being black and his victim white, as if those were the only factors in his execution. Johnson did not testify at his trial, although he did confess to the crime.
The lengths his lawyers went to in order to avoid his execution were extraordinary. The May 1987 decision of the Fifth Circuit makes interesting reading; in dismissing Johnson's appeal, the court is scathing. The only ground on which Johnson might have been spared execution in Mississippi was his youth; he was not yet 19 when he shot Marshal Trest: three times in the body; twice in the head.
Although this documentary is sympathetic to Johnson, it is clear from the evidence presented that he was the author of his own misfortune. Whether or not the death penalty is inhumane, the alternative is hardly any more appealing, so the best policy seems to be don't commit murder.