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Miami Herald
21-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Murderer Matthew Lee Johnson's Final Words Before Texas Execution
A Texas man asked for forgiveness before he was executed on Tuesday for the murder of a grandmother who he set on fire during a robbery 13 years ago. Matthew Lee Johnson, 49, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the May 20, 2012, attack on 76-year-old Nancy Harris, who he doused with lighter fluid and set ablaze in the Dallas suburb of Garland. She died days afterward. "First and foremost, I would like to give all praises to God. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here on this Earth. I thank him for the life he has given me," Johnson said in his final statement, according to a transcript provided to Newsweek by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He addressed his victim's family, saying: "As I look at each one of you, I can see her on that day. I just please ask for y'all's forgiveness. I never meant to hurt her." He added: "I pray that she's the first person I see when I open my eyes and I will spend eternity with her." This is a breaking story. More to follow. Related Articles Texas Chlorine Gas Leak Triggers 'Remain Indoors' AlertTexas To Execute Man Who Set Fire To Grandmother19 Abandoned Dogs Rescued From 'House of Horrors' in TexasCouple Go to Shelter Looking for a Chihuahua-Realize 'Dog Picks the Family' 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Texas executes man for brutal 2012 murder of grandmother
May 20 (UPI) -- Texas executed a 49-year-old death row inmate for the gruesome murder of a grandmother during a robbery in 2012, making him the second person to be executed in the United States on Tuesday and the 18th person this year. Matthew Lee Johnson was killed by lethal injection Tuesday evening at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice In Huntsville, located about 70 miles north of Houston. He was pronounced dead at 6:53 CDT, Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. Johnson was executed for killing Nancy Harris, 76, on the morning of May 20, 2012. Harris had just opened the Fina Whip-In convenience store in Garland, where she had been a longtime employee, when Johnson entered carrying a lighter and a plastic bottle of lighter fluid. According to court documents, he poured the lighter fluid on Harris and robbed her of her rings and the store of two packs of cigarettes and money from the cash register. He then set her on fire, and stole a packet of candy on the way out. Harris would die five days later from her injuries. In his final words, he apologized to Harris' family. "I never meant to hurt [Harris]," he said, The Texas Tribune reported. "I pray that she's the first person that I see when I open my eyes, and I will spend eternity with her." Paxton said Johnson had received "the justice punishment" for his crime. "While nothing can restore the innocent life that was taken, he will never be able to hurt anyone again," the Republican attorney general said. "Vicious criminals must be held responsible for their actions, and I will never stop working to ensure that justice is done." Johnson was arrested about an hour after setting Harris on fire and robbing the convenience store. During the trial, Johnson testified he wanted to use the lighter fluid as a "scare tactic" and that he hadn't intended to set her on fire when he flicked the lighter in his hand that set her ablaze, according to court documents. His defense argued that their client was intoxicated on drugs and alcohol during the crime. They said he had been sexually abused and began smoking marijuana as a child and began abusing crack cocaine as an adult. The night before the crime, he had been drinking at a wedding reception, which he left at about midnight and bought some crack. Between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. he smoked 10 rocks of crack, then took a Xanax. At 6 a.m., he drank a bottle of red wine. He went to the convenience store in order to rob it to buy more drugs, they said. Johnson filed several appeals after being sentenced to death, but all were rejected. On Sunday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected his request for a stay of execution. The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty on Tuesday said Johnson had filed a clemency application asking the state to commute his death sentence to a lesser sentence as the jury handed down the death penalty on the grounds he would be dangerous in the future. "This drug addiction plagued Johnson for most of his life in the free world and caused him to become a different person," the organization said in a statement. "Removed from any access to cocaine during his 12 years of incarceration on death row, Johnson has not been a threat to anyone." He is the fourth person to be executed in Texas this year and the second person to be executed in the United States on Tuesday. Just after midnight, Indiana killed Benjamin Donnie Ritchie by lethal injection for fatally shooting a police officer in 2000. There have been 18 executions in the United States so far this year. Oscar Smith is scheduled to be executed in Tennessee at 10 a.m. CDT Thursday.
UPI
21-05-2025
- UPI
Texas executes man for brutal 2012 murder of grandmother
Matthew Lee Johnson was executed by Texas on Tuesday evening for the 2012 murder of a grandmother during a robbery of a convenience store. Photo courtesy of Texas Department of Criminal Justice/ Website May 20 (UPI) -- Texas executed a 49-year-old death row inmate for the gruesome murder of a grandmother during a robbery in 2012, making him the second person to be executed in the United States on Tuesday and the 18th person this year. Matthew Lee Johnson was killed by lethal injection Tuesday evening at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice In Huntsville, located about 70 miles north of Houston. He was pronounced dead at 6:53 CDT, Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. Johnson was executed for killing Nancy Harris, 76, on the morning of May 20, 2012. Harris had just opened the Fina Whip-In convenience store in Garland, where she had been a longtime employee, when Johnson entered carrying a lighter and a plastic bottle of lighter fluid. According to court documents, he poured the lighter fluid on Harris and robbed her of her rings and the store of two packs of cigarettes and money from the cash register. He then set her on fire, and stole a packet of candy on the way out. Harris would die five days later from her injuries. In his final words, he apologized to Harris' family. "I never meant to hurt [Harris]," he said, The Texas Tribune reported. "I pray that she's the first person that I see when I open my eyes, and I will spend eternity with her." Paxton said Johnson had received "the justice punishment" for his crime. "While nothing can restore the innocent life that was taken, he will never be able to hurt anyone again," the Republican attorney general said. "Vicious criminals must be held responsible for their actions, and I will never stop working to ensure that justice is done." Johnson was arrested about an hour after setting Harris on fire and robbing the convenience store. During the trial, Johnson testified he wanted to use the lighter fluid as a "scare tactic" and that he hadn't intended to set her on fire when he flicked the lighter in his hand that set her ablaze, according to court documents. His defense argued that their client was intoxicated on drugs and alcohol during the crime. They said he had been sexually abused and began smoking marijuana as a child and began abusing crack cocaine as an adult. The night before the crime, he had been drinking at a wedding reception, which he left at about midnight and bought some crack. Between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. he smoked 10 rocks of crack, then took a Xanax. At 6 a.m., he drank a bottle of red wine. He went to the convenience store in order to rob it to buy more drugs, they said. Johnson filed several appeals after being sentenced to death, but all were rejected. On Sunday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected his request for a stay of execution. The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty on Tuesday said Johnson had filed a clemency application asking the state to commute his death sentence to a lesser sentence as the jury handed down the death penalty on the grounds he would be dangerous in the future. "This drug addiction plagued Johnson for most of his life in the free world and caused him to become a different person," the organization said in a statement. "Removed from any access to cocaine during his 12 years of incarceration on death row, Johnson has not been a threat to anyone." He is the fourth person to be executed in Texas this year and the second person to be executed in the United States on Tuesday. Just after midnight, Indiana killed Benjamin Donnie Ritchie by lethal injection for fatally shooting a police officer in 2000. There have been 18 executions in the United States so far this year. Oscar Smith is scheduled to be executed in Tennessee at 10 a.m. CDT Thursday.
Toronto Sun
20-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
Texas man facing execution, 13 years to day of robbery in which he set clerk ablaze
Published May 20, 2025 • 3 minute read This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Matthew Lee Johnson, who was sentenced to death for a convenience store robbery in which he set an elderly clerk on fire in Garland, Texas. Photo by Texas Department of Criminal Justice / AP HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A Texas man faced scheduled execution Tuesday evening, 13 years to the day of a convenience store robbery in which he set an elderly clerk on fire. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Matthew Lee Johnson was condemned for the deadly May 20, 2012, attack on 76-year-old Nancy Harris, a great-grandmother who was splashed with lighter fluid and set ablaze at a store in Garland, a northeast suburb of Dallas. Badly burned, she died days afterward. Johnson, 49, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection after 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. His was the second execution scheduled Tuesday in the United States. Hours earlier in Indiana, Benjamin Ritchie received a lethal injection for the 2000 killing of a police officer. Those are part of a group of four executions scheduled within about a week's time. On May 15, Glen Rogers was executed in Florida. On Thursday, Oscar Smith is scheduled to receive a lethal injection in Tennessee. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Prison officials said that when Johnson arrived at a holding cell outside the death chamber, he was calm and asked for his glasses and a Bible. David Dow, one of Johnson's attorneys, said he was not be pursuing any final appeals with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to stop the execution. Lower appeals courts had previously rejected requests by Johnson's lawyers to stay his execution. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Friday denied Johnson's request to commute his death sentence to a lesser penalty. In prior appeals, Johnson's lawyers had argued his death sentence was unconstitutional because he was improperly determined to be a future danger to society, a legal finding needed to sentence him to death. His most recent appeals had argued his execution date had been illegally scheduled. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Security video captured part of the attack against Harris. She was able to describe the suspect before she died several days after the attack. Johnson's guilt has never been in doubt. At his 2013 trial, he admitted to setting Harris on fire. He expressed remorse and called himself 'the lowest scum of the earth.' 'I hurt an innocent woman. I took a human being's life. I was the cause of that. It was not my intentions to — to kill her or to hurt her, but I did,' said Johnson. Johnson said he had not been aware of what he had done as he had been high after smoking $100 worth of crack. His attorneys told jurors that Johnson had a long history of drug addiction and had been sexually abused as a child. In court documents, the Texas Attorney General's Office said Johnson's various appeals have been efforts to delay a legal death sentence. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Thirteen years after the commission of Johnson's crime, justice should no longer be denied,' the attorney general's office said in a court petition filed last week. Harris had worked at the convenience store for more than 10 years, living only about a block and a half away, according to testimony from her son, Scot Harris. She had four sons, 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Prosecutors said Harris had only been working her Sunday morning shift for a short time when Johnson walked in, poured lighter fluid over her head and demanded money. After Johnson grabbed the money from the register, he set Harris on fire and calmly walked out the store, according to court documents. Harris frantically tried to extinguish herself and her clothing, exiting the store and screaming for help before a police officer used a fire extinguisher to douse the flames covering her body. Johnson was arrested about an hour later. Harris suffered extensive second- and third-degree burns over her head and face, neck, shoulders, upper arms, and leg and was in a great deal of pain in the days before she died, a nurse and doctor testified. If the execution is carried out, Johnson would be the fourth person put to death this year in Texas, historically the nation's busiest capital punishment state. Toronto Maple Leafs Columnists Toronto Maple Leafs Basketball Columnists
Newsweek
20-05-2025
- Newsweek
Texas To Execute Man Who Set Fire To Grandmother
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Matthew Lee Johnson is set to be executed in Texas on Tuesday for the death of an elderly woman he set on fire during a convenience store robbery. Johnson, 49, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection after 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. The Context Johnson was condemned for the 2012 death of 76-year-old Nancy Harris. He poured a bottle of lighter fluid over the great-grandmother, who was working as a cashier, before setting her on fire at a store in Garland, a northeast suburb of Dallas, on May 20, 2012. She was able to describe the suspect before she was taken off life support and died five days later. Matthew Lee Johnson is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas, on May 20. Matthew Lee Johnson is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas, on May 20. Texas Department of Criminal Justice What To Know Johnson admitted to setting Harris on fire during his 2013 trial. "I hurt an innocent woman. I took a human being's life. I was the cause of that. It was not my intentions to—to kill her or to hurt her, but I did," he said. Johnson said he had not been aware of what he had done because he had been high after smoking $100 worth of crack. His attorneys told jurors he had a long history of drug addiction and had been sexually abused as a child. David Dow, one of Johnson's attorneys, said he would not be pursuing any final appeals with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt the execution. Newsweek has contacted Dow for further comment via email. Lower appeals courts had previously rejected requests by Johnson's lawyers to stay his execution. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Johnson's request to commute his death sentence to a lesser penalty on Friday. What People Are Saying Harris' daughter-in-law Elizabeth Harris told USA Today: "It is just to the point where ... we're just tired and we just want it to be over with and done with. "The truth of the matter is, there's no such thing as as 'healing.' You don't heal. Days get easier, but there's no day where it's totally healed." The Texas Attorney General's Office said in a court petition filed last week: "Thirteen years after the commission of Johnson's crime, justice should no longer be denied." What's Next Johnson's execution is scheduled to take place 13 years to the day Harris was attacked. If it is carried out, he would be the fourth person put to death this year in Texas. The next execution scheduled in the U.S. is set to take place on Thursday. Tennessee plans to execute Oscar Smith, more than two years after Smith's execution was abruptly halted. If it goes ahead, it will be the first death sentence carried out in the state since before the COVID-19 pandemic. This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
