Corey Johnson, a convicted drug trafficker responsible for the deaths of seven men in 1992, was executed Thursday night at the Federal Correctional Complex in Indiana
The 52-year-old Virginia man died by lethal injection at 11:34 p.m. He is the second person to be executed by the government this week and the 12th since July, when the Trump administration restarted federal executions after a 17-year hiatus.
In a final statement distributed by his lawyers, Johnson apologized for his crimes and thanked the prison staff, the chaplain and his legal team.
“I would have said I was sorry before, but I didn’t know how. I hope you will find peace,” he said, according to a statement released by his lawyers.
“To my family, I have always loved you, and your love has made me real. On the streets, I was looking for shortcuts, I had some good role models, I was side tracking, I was blind and stupid. I am not the same man that I was.”
According to the US Justice Department, Johnson partnered up with several others between 1989 and 1992 in a “large drug-trafficking conspiracy” based in Richmond. During that time he murdered seven people: Peyton Johnson, Louis Johnson, Bobby Long, Dorothy Armstrong, Anthony Carter, Linwood Chiles and Curtis Thorne.
“I want these names to be remembered,” Johnson’s statement read.
His deadly spree came amid one of the worst bouts of gang violence the Virginia city had ever faced, with 11 people killed in a 45-day period.
Two other gang members convicted for the murders, Richard Tipton and James Roane, are also on federal death row. Their executions have not been scheduled.
Johnson’s death comes after weeks of legal battles, triggered by the coronavirus infection he contracted while behind bars. The U.S. District Court in D.C. earlier this week ruled both Johnson and Dustin Higgs, initially slated to die on Friday, would be allowed to live until at least March so that they can recover from the disease.
Their lawyers had argued that their COVID-damaged lungs would likely fail more quickly after being administered lethal doses of the barbiturate pentobarbital. They added that the potential for the men to start drowning in fluid that entered their lungs before the drug kicked in would constitute torture.
The appeal was denied by the Supreme Court late Thursday, paving the way for the deaths of both Johnson and Higgs, whose execution would likely be the last of the Trump administration.
Higgs was convicted of kidnapping and murdering three women in Maryland in 2000, though his attorneys have long-argued he should not be executed since he did not shoot the women.
With News Wire Services
