The 52-year-old man was sentenced to death for multiple crimes committed in Virginia in 1992 in connection with drug trafficking. He was pronounced dead on Thursday at 11:34 PM.
“I’m fine, I’m at peace”, “I mean I’m not the same man I was”, Corey Johnson said in his latest confession before being executed by the US government on Thursday. In his last words, he also asked for forgiveness for his crimes.
The 52-year-old man was sentenced to death for multiple crimes committed in the state of Virginia in 1992 in connection with drug trafficking.
Johnson was pronounced dead at 11:34 PM after being placed on a stretcher and given lethal injections. His lawyers asked the court to stay the execution on the grounds that the pentobartbital applied to him would affect his lungs weakened by a recent infection with Covid-19.
In a statement, they also noted that the government executed a person “with an intellectual disability” and denied that he had the mental ability to be a drug lord, AP reporter Mike Balsamo said on Twitter.
Also Read: The United States Executes Lisa Montgomery, Who Killed a Pregnant Woman to Steal Her Baby
“I mean, I’m sorry for my crimes. I wanted to say that to the family members who have been victims of my actions and I want those names to be remembered. He would have apologized before, but he didn’t know how sorry he was. I hope you find peace “Johnson added.
Corey Johnson, who died in the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, also spoke about his last meal, launching an ironic rebuke.
“The pizza and strawberry milkshake were great, but I didn’t have jelly donuts. What happened? This needs to be resolved “added.
The agency told the AP that the man was executed despite claims by his lawyers that the lethal injection could cause him excruciating pain from lung damage caused by COVID-19.
READ MORE: Lisa Montgomery: Killed a pregnant woman and is the first woman executed in the United States since 1953
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of its attorneys and gave the green light to the execution of Corey Johnson for his crimes.
Jonhson also sent a message to his family. ‘I have always loved her and her love has made me real. On the street I looked for shortcuts, I had good role models, but I looked aside… I was blind and I was stupid. I am not the same man that I was ”.
He also thanked the “chaplain” and Don, his lawyer. Thanks to my legal team. Don has been more than a lawyer, he has become a friend. I am grateful to my minister. I am fine. I am at peace ”, he concluded. Minutes later he was executed.
This is the second execution the United States has carried out in a week. On Wednesday Lisa Montgomery, 52, became the first federal execution of a woman in nearly 70 years
Montgomery he had murdered a pregnant woman in 2004 to steal her baby. She was executed in Terre Haute Federal Prison, ”Midwestern Indiana, at 1:31 am (6:00 am GMT), the Justice Department said in a statement.