Raymond Eugene Johnson (born March 26, 1974) killed his ex-girlfriend and her infant daughter in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

in 2007, shortly after being paroled from a previous

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

conviction in 1995. For the latter crimes, Johnson was convicted and

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

, and is currently awaiting execution.

First homicide

On September 11, 1995, the 21-year-old Johnson was in the company of 25-year-old Clarence Ray Oliver in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

when the pair got into an argument. In the ensuing scuffle, Johnson pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot Oliver, who got into his car and attempted to drive away, and was then shot through the passenger side window. The car crashed into a nearby ditch, where it was found the following day. About two weeks later, Johnson was questioned by detectives regarding the murder and was soon arrested for the murder. In the ensuing trial, he pleaded guilty to

and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Release and double murder

After being paroled in 2005, Johnson moved to Tulsa, where he entered a relationship with a woman named Brooke Whitaker, a mother of four children. Their relationship quickly deteriorated as Johnson became physically abusive, stalked her, and even threatened to kill her on more than ten occasions. Due to this, she eventually filed a

restraining order A restraining order or protective order is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation often involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and perso ...

against him in April 2007, but the order was dropped the following month when neither party attended a court hearing scheduled for May 21. On June 23, Johnson went to Whitaker's home, where he brutally beat her with a hammer, almost to the point of cracking her skull. He then doused her in gasoline, lit her on fire, and fled. Whitaker suffered severe burns, and her 7-month-old daughter, Kya, burned to death. Firefighters brought Whitaker to Hillcrest Medical Center, where she died of her injuries. Shortly after the discovery of the crime, an arrest warrant was issued for Johnson. He was arrested later that same day in Coweta and extradited to Tulsa, where he was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson. According to the arrest report submitted by the Tulsa Police Department, Johnson admitted to both slayings.

Trial and imprisonment

Jury selection for Johnson's trial took place in June 2009, with prosecutors announcing that they would seek the death penalty against him. Not long after, Johnson was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death for each of the murder charges and to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

on the arson charge. He did not offer a statement after the verdict, and the verdict itself was welcomed by the victims' family members. Since his incarceration on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

, all of Johnson's appeals have been rejected by the respective courts. His final appeal was denied by the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in November 2019, allowing for an execution date to be set. On July 1, 2022, the

Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the Oklahoma state government.

set execution dates for twenty-five state death row inmates, one of whom was Johnson. He was scheduled to be executed on May 2, 2024. His execution was later postponed due to a request by attorney general

Gentner Drummond Gentner Frederick Drummond (born October 1, 1963) is an American attorney, rancher, Air Force veteran, and politician serving as the 20th attorney general of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, he is a candidate for governor in the 202 ...

, who asked for sixty days between executions rather than thirty "to alleviate the burden on DOC personnel." He is currently awaiting a new execution date.

References

External links

Johnson v. State (2012)

Johnson v. Royal (2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Raymond Eugene 1974 births 20th-century American criminals 21st-century American criminals American male criminals American murderers of children American people convicted of arson American people convicted of murder American people convicted of manslaughter American prisoners sentenced to death American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Living people People convicted of murder by Oklahoma People from Oklahoma City Prisoners sentenced to death by Oklahoma Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Oklahoma Serial killers from Oklahoma Uxoricides

First homicide

Release and double murder

Trial and imprisonment

See also

References

External links