Shadow of Death

Exploring St. Louis County’s Use of the Death Penalty

The Riverfront Times, the Jewish Light and St. Louis Public Radio were partners in the “Shadow of Death” series, which debuted in November 2022.

Introduction

“On August 3, 1810, Peter Johnson became the first person to be executed by the state of Missouri. By the time the U.S. Supreme Court found the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972, Missouri had already executed 285 people — most by hanging.”

— “‘Shadow of Death’: A Series Looking at St. Louis County and Death Penalty”
Sarah Fenske, St. Louis Public Radio

Chapter 1

“He killed a Kirkwood cop in 2005. Now a grandfather, he’s opening up to a journalist for the first time.”

— “Kevin Johnson Has Grappled With Guilt for 17 Years — But He Doesn’t Want to Die”
Monica Obradovic, Riverfront Times

Chapter 2

“McCulloch put 23 people on death row, and 3 are slated to die in the next 4 months.”

— “Former St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch Has No Regrets”
Ryan Krull, Riverfront Times

Sidebar

“What I find particularly chilling about the Missouri gas chamber is it has two seats, as if we are in such a hurry to execute people, and we have so many people to execute, that we’re taking them two at a time,” Joyce says. “I think that kind of zeal, whenever this was constructed, you don’t find that in any state anymore.”

— Jennifer Joyce Took a Different Road Than Bob McCulloch
Leyla Fern King, The Jewish Light

Chapter 3

“One Missouri case seems to be a textbook example of a perilously imperfect system where a defendant’s race and socioeconomic status, coupled with prosecutors all too eager to get a conviction, led to an unjust death sentence.”

— Could DNA analysis exonerate death-row inmate Marcellus Williams
Sylvester Brown, Jr., The Jewish Light

Sidebar

“It’s illegal to eliminate a juror on the basis of race. But in practice, it’s all too common.”

— How Missouri prosecutors get away with striking Black jurors
Sarah Fenske, Riverfront Times

Chapter 4

“Kevin Johnson, 37, died by lethal injection at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre. He had been sentenced to death in 2005 for murdering Kirkwood Police Sergeant William McEntee as a teenager.”

— Missouri executes Kevin Johnson, 37, for 2005 slaying of Kirkwood officer
Monica Obradovic, St. Louis Public Radio

“The state plans to execute McLaughlin, a trans woman, on January 3.”

— Amber McLaughlin Is Next on Missouri’s Execution List
Ryan Krull, Riverfront Times

“…after all the appeals and protests, and nearly two decades after Johnson, then 19, shot and killed Kirkwood police officer William McEntee. Johnson’s own life ended with a few grams of a sedative more often used to euthanize dogs.”

— Even as lethal injection drugs are hard to obtain, states like Missouri keep killing
Kathy Gilsinan, The Jewish Light

Photo of Kevin Johnson by Jeremy Weis