Missouri man executed for 2002 abduction, killing of 6-year-old girl lured to abandoned factory
![FILE - This undated photo provided by the Missouri Department of Corrections shows Johnny Johnson. Johnson who abducted and beat to death a 6-year-old girl was scheduled to be executed Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Missouri, as his attorneys pressed claims that he is mentally incompetent. (Missouri Department of Corrections via AP, File)](https://abc17news.b-cdn.net/abc17news.com/2023/08/AP23212696951047-scaled.jpg)
BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man who abducted and beat a 6-year-old girl to death at an abandoned factory two decades ago has been executed.
Authorities say 45-year-old Johnny Johnson received a lethal injection Tuesday evening at a state prison in Bonne Terre. He was convicted of killing Casey Williamson in July 2002.
Authorities say Johnson led the girl to an abandoned factory where he tried to sexually assault her before fatally beating her.
The U.S. Supreme Court, with three justices dissenting, rejected a late defense request for a stay. Johnson's lawyers had contended he was mentally incompetent to be executed. The inmate expressed remorse in a handwritten statement released earlier in the day.