Kirkwood man gets death sentence for killing police officer

In a decision written  by Judge William Ray Price Jr., the Supreme Court of Missouri has affirmed the conviction and sentence of Kevin Johnson who was convicted of the June 2005 shooting death of a Kirkwood police. From the court’s opinion:

“In July 2005, the Kirkwood police were looking for Kevin Johnson for violating his probation on a misdemeanor conviction. While the police were in Johnson’s house, Johnson’s brother suffered a seizure. Johnson was next door at the time. The officers called an ambulance. Johnson’s brother was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Johnson blamed the police officers for his brother’s death, and Johnson shot and killed one of the officers that same day. He was charged and convicted of first degree murder. In October 2007, after finding Johnson had time to cool down and “deliberate” between his brother’s death and shooting the officer, the trial court sentenced Johnson to death.”