Shannon M. Johnson (November 18, 1983 – April 20, 2012) was an American convicted murderer and rapist who was

executed 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 (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

for the 2006 murder of 25-year-old Cameron Hamlin in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. Johnson was executed by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...

at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center on April 20, 2012.

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

's capital punishment statute was declared unconstitutional on August 2, 2016. Delaware formally abolished

capital punishment 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 (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

in 2024, officially making Johnson the last person to be executed by the state of Delaware.

Prior criminal history

Johnson's criminal record consisted of 57 arrests on 145 misdemeanor charges and 33 felony offenses since 2001. On December 19, 2002, Johnson raped a pregnant 18-year-old woman. He pleaded guilty to fourth degree rape for that crime. This prior violent felony conviction made Hamlin's murder a capital offense. Johnson was also suspected of shooting his stepfather.

Crimes

On September 24, 2006, Johnson went to the home of his ex-girlfriend, Lakeisha Truitt, in

. The relationship between the two had ended due to Johnson abusing Truitt, but the pair had a son together. Johnson had hoped to reconcile with Truitt and had gone to see her, but instead he came across Truitt and 25-year-old Cameron Hamlin, who was Truitt's new boyfriend and had been staying at Truitt's home. He spotted Hamlin and Truitt sitting in front of her home in a car. Johnson pulled out a gun and began firing into the car, fatally wounding Hamlin. He then fled the scene. Truitt was not injured in the shooting and ran to her grandmother's house where she called the police. Due to concern for her safety, she was advised not to return home until Johnson was caught. However, on November 10, 2006, she decided to return home and retrieve some clothes for her son. Johnson had evaded detection, but had been stalking Truitt. As Truitt sat in her car, he ran towards her and fired at her with a gun. He managed to hit Truitt, but stopped and fled when his gun jammed. Truitt was injured in the shooting but survived.

Trial

Johnson was captured and arrested by Wilmington Police on November 15, 2006. He was convicted of

first degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

Superior Court on March 27, 2008, and sentenced to death. Prosecutors also accused Johnson of trying to hire an inmate who was going to be released to kill Truitt and prevent her testimony. After the

Delaware Supreme Court The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole appellate court in the United States state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisions, ...

upheld his death sentence in 2009, Johnson said he did not want to pursue any further appeals. Johnson waived his appeals, speeding up his own execution. Federal public defenders twice sought to intervene in the case without Johnson's consent. They argued Johnson was mentally incompetent, but a state judge concluded he was not.

Execution

Johnson was executed by

on April 20, 2012, at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center. His

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States Contrary to the common belief t ...

was chicken lo mein, carrots, cake, wheat bread and margarine and iced tea. Following his execution, Delaware's supply of lethal injection drugs expired, meaning they had no means of executing

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 ...

inmates. On August 2, 2016, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that the state's death penalty was unconstitutional. Due to the ruling, Johnson is officially the last person to be executed by the state of Delaware.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Shannon M. 1983 births 2012 deaths 21st-century African-American people 21st-century American criminals 21st-century executions by Delaware 21st-century executions of American people 2006 murders in the United States American people convicted of rape American people convicted of assault American people executed for murder Executed African-American people People convicted of illegal possession of weapons People convicted of murder by Delaware People executed by Delaware by lethal injection Violence against women in Delaware

Prior criminal history

Crimes

Trial

Execution

See also

References