Joseph Johnson (murderer)
Encyclopedia
Joseph Johnson, Jr. was an American
murderer executed by the state of Texas via the electric chair
. He was convicted for murder committed during the course of a robbery.
Johnson was the last inmate executed by the state of Texas prior to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Furman v. Georgia
, which essentially overturned all death penalty sentences nationwide. All Texas inmates on death row at the time of the Furman decision would have their sentences commuted to life in prison.
The Supreme Court's later ruling in Gregg v. Georgia
again allowed for the death penalty; though several states would not reinstate the death penalty, Texas chose to do so. Although Texas would resume executions in 1982 with the execution of Charles Brooks, Jr.
, during the intervening period the state also changed its execution method to lethal injection
; thus, Johnson would be the last Texas inmate to be executed via the electric chair.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
murderer executed by the state of Texas via the electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
. He was convicted for murder committed during the course of a robbery.
Johnson was the last inmate executed by the state of Texas prior to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
, which essentially overturned all death penalty sentences nationwide. All Texas inmates on death row at the time of the Furman decision would have their sentences commuted to life in prison.
The Supreme Court's later ruling in Gregg v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia, Proffitt v. Florida, Jurek v. Texas, Woodson v. North Carolina, and Roberts v. Louisiana, 428 U.S. 153 , reaffirmed the United States Supreme Court's acceptance of the use of the death penalty in the United States, upholding, in particular, the death sentence imposed on Troy Leon...
again allowed for the death penalty; though several states would not reinstate the death penalty, Texas chose to do so. Although Texas would resume executions in 1982 with the execution of Charles Brooks, Jr.
Charles Brooks, Jr.
Charles Brooks, Jr. was a convicted murderer who was the first person executed by the state of Texas since it resumed capital punishment. Brooks was also the first person in United States to be executed using lethal injection.-Biography:Brooks was raised in a well-off Fort Worth, Texas family and...
, during the intervening period the state also changed its execution method to lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
; thus, Johnson would be the last Texas inmate to be executed via the electric chair.