A federal appeals court panel has halted next month’s planned execution of a 45-year-old Missouri man convicted of killing a 6-year-old girl, though the state is appealing the ruling.
The three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday voted 2–1 to stop the execution of Johnny Johnson, who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre for killing Casey Williamson after trying to sexually assault her in 2002.
