Questionable Conviction and Disparity of Sentencing

Donnie Johnson scheduled to die while admitted accessory goes free

Nashville: The state of Tennessee is scheduled to execute Donnie Johnson on 1:00 a.m. on October 25th, despite serious questions about the reliability of his conviction and sentence. Even the Tennessee Supreme Court in unclear as to who committed the crime saying, “there is no question but that appellant (Johnson) or one Ron McCoy murdered her.”

The case starkly demonstrates the disparity in the death penalty system in Tennessee as Donnie Johnson, who continues to claim his innocence, awaits execution, while Ron McCoy faced no consequences for his admitted part in Connie Johnson’s death. In fact, McCoy was given early parole from the Penal Farm in which he was serving time at the time of Connie Johnson’s murder.

“Don Johnson’s case exemplifies the inherent inequality and unfairness of the death penalty system in Tennessee, ” said Stacy Rector, the Executive Director of the Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing. Rector asks the question, “How could one man receive the death penalty, and the other, who testified to his involvement in the crime, suffer no legal consequences for his role?”

Both Johnson and McCoy claim that the other murdered Connie Johnson, who was discovered in her van outside the Mall of Memphis on December 9, 1984. Donnie Johnson’s conviction hinged on the testimony and creditability of Ron McCoy, who according to his own testimony helped Johnson dispose of Connie’s body, making him an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, a crime which can carry a life sentence.

The issue at the center of this case is whether Ron McCoy or Donnie Johnson committed the murder of Connie Johnson. Donnie Johnson has continually claimed his innocence while McCoy took a deal to avoid prosecution and lied about it under oath.

“Such unreliable and disparate outcomes demonstrate the general brokenness of the death penalty system in Tennessee, a system which cannot be relied on to be fair and impartial when deciding who lives and who dies,” said Rector.