Christopher Thomas Johnson, an Alabama man who has spent just 4 years on death row for the fatal suffocation and beating his baby son, was put to death by lethal injection on Thursday evening.
Christopher Thomas Johnson, 39, has been executed last night at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.
The death row intimate had a turkey bologna sandwich with cheese and tomato, a grape Sunkist, french fries, Reeses peanut butter cups and pretzels for his last meal and his only visitor was his brother, Thomas Eugene Lagos.
Christopher Thomas Johnson made the rare move of pleading guilty to capital murder in 2005 for killing his six-month-old son Elias Ocean Johnson.
His situation is one of the quickest death penalty case in recent memory, as it only took six years for the murderer to be put to death after the crime.
Christopher Thomas Johnson himself requested the death penalty, which was granted in February 2007, and waived all appellate and intervention measures on his behalf.
The inmate represented himself at trial. Christopher Thomas Johnson testified he killed his son because “he hated his wife, didn’t want to be near her and didn’t want to worry about her threats of putting him in jail for alimony or child support”, according to documents filed by the state Attorney General’s Office.
Christopher Thomas Johnson offered no mitigating circumstances for his crime, and the trial court found the “the heinous, atrocious and cruel” nature of the murder outweighed any justifications that could have been offered, records show.
According to court documents, Christopher Thomas Johnson tried to quiet his son while his wife slept.
After several unsuccessful attempts in the early morning hours, the father “laid on top of Elias, covered Elias’ mouth with his hand for extended periods of time, and forced his fingers into the child’s mouth and down his throat to stop the crying”.
Father also struck the child with his hand.
During his trial, Christopher Thomas Johnson said that “You go see Jesus”, were the last words he said to Elias.
When the child’s mother awoke, the child was unresponsive and cold to the touch.
According to the forensic pathologist who performed Elias’ autopsy, the infant suffered at least 85 separate injuries.
Suffocation and head trauma were cited as the Elias’ causes of death.
The intimate’s ex-wife Dana spoke to a local Alabama newspaper for the first time since the murder, saying that she welcomes his death.
“Although I normally do not agree with capital punishment, I will not lose any sleep over this particular execution. Whether it is right or wrong I feel that a weight will be lifted from my soul on Thursday, and finally I will feel relief,” she told NorthEscambia.com.
“I am scarred by this, and Christopher took away my son, my trust in other people, and even my desire to ever have another child. I still have a hard time being around children because of the sorrow it makes me feel. Every day I see children that are Elias’ age, and I wonder what he would have been like,” Dana said.
She has since moved to an unidentified city out West and is currently studying to become a nurse.
“My son was the most delightful calm little boy I have ever known. Christopher Johnson took him from me. I have spent years trying to heal from this unimaginable pain.”
