Governor denies clemency to death row inmate

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Monday declined to grant clemency to death row inmate Ernest Johnson, despite requests for mercy from the pope, two federal lawmakers and thousands of petition signers.

Johnson, 61, was convicted of killing three convenience store workers during a closing-time robbery in 1994. He is scheduled to die by injection at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

“The state is prepared to deliver justice and carry out the lawful sentence Mr. Johnson received in accordance with the Missouri Supreme Court’s order,” Parson, a Republican, said in a statement about his decision not to reduce the sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Jeremy Weis, Johnson’s lawyer, said he was “very disappointed” by the decision.

“We believe we made a compelling case to him that it was the right moral decision and I guess he disagreed,” Weis said.