Man who killed 3 in 1981, including Polk County deputy, dies in prison
A man who spent more than four decades on Florida's death row for killing three people, including a Polk County sheriff's deputy, in January 1981 has died in prison.
Paul Beasley Johnson died Saturday at age 74 while receiving medical treatment at a hospital. He was in the custody of the Union County Correctional Institution, according to a news release from the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Johnson was convicted in 1981 for the murders of William Evans, Ray Beasley and Polk Deputy Theron Burnham.
“Three innocent people were violently and viciously murdered that night in 1981 during an all-night, meth-induced crime spree, and I personally lost a good friend in Deputy Theron Burnham," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in the news release. "Johnson was captured by SWAT during a manhunt, and I had the pleasure of being one of two deputies to take him to jail. I am glad he hasn't enjoyed a day of freedom since then, but the truth is, he should have been executed by the State a long time ago.
"Ultimately though, there is one final judgment he has to face — and based on the kind of person he was, I doubt that goes well for him.”
The violent string of events began shortly after midnight on Jan. 9, 1981. Johnson first robbed and fatally shot cab driver Evans, then set his car on fire.
Johnson then hitched a ride with Darrell Ray Beasley and Amy Reid. When he asked them to stop along Drane Field Road so he could relieve himself, he held Beasley at gunpoint outside the car. Johnson fatally shot Beasley as Reid jumped behind the wheel to seek help, calling the Sheriff 's Office from a convenience store payphone.
Burnham heard the dispatch and headed for Drane Field Road, where he spotted Johnson running. Burnham, 27, went after him, they struggled, and Johnson got Burnham's service handgun. He left the deputy not far from the roadway, bleeding from two gunshot wounds to his leg and another to his shoulder that nicked a major artery. He bled to death before paramedics could get him to the hospital.
It was later determined that Burnham was shot with his own gun, and that gun was never recovered. Johnson was arrested a day later, apparently after telling friends he had shot the deputy.
Following his conviction in September 1981, Johnson was sentenced to death for the murders. But his conviction and sentence were thrown out on appeal. A second jury in 1988 reached the same verdict, and Johnson was again sentenced to death. Another appeal led to a third sentencing in 2013, but the outcome again was the same.
Information from Ledger archives was used in this report.