On May 20, Texas executed Matthew Lee Johnson by lethal injection. Johnson was convicted of the horrific slaying of 76-year-old Harris Judith Nancy, the adored grandmother. The execution took place at 6:41 p.m. at the Huntsville Unit, nearly eleven years after Johnson committed the crime in May 2012 in the Dallas suburb of Garland.
At 50 years old, Johnson was shot to death in the gas chamber for the murder of Harris. He shot and killed her while robbing the Fina Whip-In convenience store, where she was working as a clerk. On that fateful morning, terrible things happened. They made a tremendous impact on the community and, posthumously, on Harris’s family.
The Crime and Its Aftermath
On the evening of May 20, 2012, Matthews Lee Johnston entered the Fina Whip-In GAS station/convenience store. He walked up to Harris who was behind the gun counter. He stole two lighters and two packs of cigarettes and even peeled a ring off her finger. As Harris struggled to unlock the cash register, Johnson escalated matters further. He doused her in lighter fluid, threw a match on top of her head and set her on fire.
As a result of the rescue, Harris incurred severe third-degree burns over 40% of her body. Her injuries were life-threatening to face, arms, hands, legs, and chest. Emergency responders had her in the hospital within minutes. She survived five days on life support, but unfortunately, she died from her injuries on May 25, 2012.
The violent nature of the crime immediately rattled the community and attracted national media attention. Johnson was under a death sentence for what he did. He acknowledged that his long dangerous struggle with addiction led him to make those decisions.
Johnson’s Background and Struggles
Matthew Lee Johnson’s life was deeply affected by his violent past with drugs. His introduction to marijuana came at the age of seven, courtesy of his older brothers and cousins. In middle school, though, he says he’d graduated to crack cocaine and PCP. At 19, he married his wife, Daphne, and at first kept his drug use a secret from her.
Johnson, after fighting for clemency and getting many prominent supporters, was released from prison in 2009. Coincidentally, he had been sober for three years but fell off the wagon in 2011, shortly before perpetrating the crime. Determined to be a better father and man, he enrolled in a prison parenting class looking for forgiveness and a chance to start fresh.
In a last confession shortly before his execution, Johnson showed remorse for his previous actions. As an emotional Colangelo, choked up with emotion, apologized to his wife and three daughters for, in his words, “quitting” on them. He addressed Harris’s family directly.
“To Mrs. Harris’ family, as I look at each and everyone of you, I see her on that day.” – Matthew Lee Johnson
Final Words and Reflections
In his last moments, Johnson admitted that he wished he had not made the choices he did, as they had fatal effects. He admitted what he did wrong, apologized for the hurt he created and owned up to his behavior.
“Just know that it’s nothing that y’all did. I made wrong choices, I’ve made wrong decisions, and now I pay the consequences.” – Matthew Lee Johnson
He further thanked the lord for the time that had been afforded him to find forgiveness. “I thank the Lord for the last 13 years. He has given me the opportunity to ask for his forgiveness, and I thank him for his redemption,” he stated before the execution.
As he prepared to face death, Johnson remarked with a chilling sense of urgency, “What took you so long? Y’all are getting slow.” He ended with a lovely symbolic farewell as he fell victim to the state’s use of lethal injection.
“Welcome me father, thank each and everyone of you for being here. I’m done, Warden.” – Matthew Lee Johnson
At the heart of Harris’s family is their belief that she was remembered as a gentle spirit. Her daughter, Elizabeth Harris, remembers that her mom would “give you the shirt off her back.” This horrible crime affects their lives forever. They are grieving their loss and choosing to pursue closure in a very intentional way.
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