Oklahoma Man Who Killed Girlfriend, 7-Month-Old With Hammer Set for Execution After Clemency Denied

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board unanimously denied clemency on April 8 for convicted murderer Raymond Eugene Johnson. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond commended the vote.

Johnson, 52, was sentenced to death for the brutal 2007 murders of his ex-girlfriend Brooke Whitaker and her seven-month-old daughter, Kya. He is set to be executed on May 14.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Johnson repeatedly struck Whitaker with a claw hammer inside her home on June 23, 2007. Despite Whitaker’s pleas for mercy, the suspect allegedly doused her with gasoline and set her on fire. Whitaker succumbed to her injuries at a hospital.

Whitaker’s 7-month-old daughter, Kya, also died from severe burns after being engulfed in the flames.

“Raymond Johnson is a cruel murderer who inflicted unimaginable pain and suffering on his victims,” Drummond said. “His heinous actions shattered a family and forced three young children to grow up without their mother or baby sister. There will finally be justice for Brooke and Kya when the death sentence is carried out on May 14.”

The Pardon and Parole Board voted 5-0 to arrive at the decision despite Johnson’s claims that he is a changed man.

“There is no excuse for my actions,” Johnson said in a lengthy video statement from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester where the execution is scheduled to take place, according to The Oklahoman.

“Am I perfect? Absolutely not. Am I flawed? Yes. Have I changed and evolved? Yes. Am I ever evolving? Yes. My crime doesn’t define who I am. That defines a moment I deeply regret,” Johnson continued.

“I’m asking for forgiveness. See my remorse not just as words, but actions as well. Allow me the chance to save more lives, stop more violence, and lead more men down the path of redemption as well,” he added.

Johnson reportedly wanted the board to recommend to Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt that his death sentence be overturned in exchange for life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, Stitt can act only if the board recommends clemency.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty questioned the board’s decision.

“A small state of 4.4 million people — Oklahoma has the highest execution rate in the country. The decision of the Pardon and Parole Board today reaffirms that Oklahoma will remain an outlier, a seriously mortifying distinction for the state and the people of Oklahoma,” the coalition chair, Elizabeth Overman, said.

The board’s decision was influenced by multiple factors, including Johnson’s previous manslaughter conviction in 1996.