Georgia executes man for 1994 murder of woman he met at bar
David Beasley, Reuters
First posted: Thursday, November 19, 2015 11:55 PM EST | Updated: Friday, November 20, 2015 12:00 AM EST
Marcus Ray Johnson is pictured in this undated booking photo provided by Georgia Department of Corrections. Johnson, 50, was sentenced to death after being convicted of murder in a woman's 1994 fatal stabbing and was executed Thursday evening. REUTERS/Georgia Department of Corrections/Handout via Reuters
ATLANTA - Georgia on Thursday executed a 50-year-old man convicted of the 1994 murder of a woman he met at a bar, making him the 27th person put to death in the United States this year.
Marcus Ray Johnson was pronounced dead at 10:11 p.m. Eastern time, a prison spokeswoman said. Johnson declined a final prayer and refused to record a final statement, the Georgia Department of Corrections said.
Johnson stabbed Angela Sizemore 41 times after the two left a bar in Albany, Georgia, on March 24, 1994, according to a Georgia Supreme Court synopsis of the case.
The state Supreme Court on Thursday denied Johnson's motion to delay the execution. The court also dismissed his claims that new evidence showed eyewitness testimony was unreliable and prosecutors had failed to disprove that someone else could have killed Sizemore.
The state pardons and paroles board on Wednesday rejected the condemned inmate's request for more time to analyze DNA evidence.
The 27 executions in the United States this year are the lowest figure since 1991, before a movement to crack down on crime swept the country and executions hit 98 in 1999.
That in turn was the highest since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. No more executions are planned for this year.
Johnson told police he "kind of lost it" when the woman became angry because he would not cuddle with her after they had sex in a vacant lot, according to a court synopsis.
Johnson admitted punching Sizemore, 34, in the face but did not remember anything else until the next morning, court records show.
"I didn't kill her intentionally if I did kill her," he told police.
Sizemore's blood was found on Johnson's jacket, and he had scratches on his hands, arms and neck, the synopsis said.
Johnson's attorneys say only a speck of Sizemore's blood was found on Johnson's jacket, consistent with his statement that he punched her in the nose.
No blood was found on the knife or the tree branch Johnson allegedly used to sexually assault Sizemore, the defense said.
Johnson's lawyer, Brian Kammer, said in a statement before the execution that Georgia has a "shameful, disturbing record of executing the mentally ill and disabled, in addition to those for whom there are serious questions as to their guilt."
State prison officials denied Johnson's request to have a six-pack of beer as his last meal because alcohol is considered a contraband item.
