Ernest Johnson executed in Missouri despite questions over his intellectual capacity.
"His Holiness wishes to place before you the simple fact of Mr. Johnson's humanity and the sacredness of all human life," Pierre wrote.that he remains unswayed by those seeking to halt the execution, and that Johnson is competent to be put to death, noting that the courts over the years, including Missouri's highest court, have rejected his appeals.
Johnson has also asked to be executed by firing squad, which the Missouri Supreme Court denied in August.after his attorney argued that brain damage puts him at risk of severe and painful seizures if he's executed by lethal injection. Attorney Jeremy Weis said Johnson was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and also lost one-fifth of his brain tissue with the removal of a benign tumor in 2008. That brain defect, which left a small hole in his skull, scar tissue and a blank space where the tumor was removed, could inflict further pain, he added.to Johnson's stay of execution request that what he was convicted of doing in 1994 belies his claims of an intellectual disability.
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