Johnny Ray Johnson correspondence with Joanna Vaughn

Johnny Ray Johnson was born on August 2, 1957 in (presumably Austin) Texas. By the time Johnson turned five years old, both of his parents were incarcerated. After a series of accidents that brought Johnson to University Medical Center Brakenridge’s emergency room (Austin, Texas) in 1964, his aunt Julie assumed custody of him until she suffered a debilitating stroke. Johnson was transferred to foster care thereafter, circa 1969. At the age of 17, Johnson left foster care and started living on the streets. He periodically worked as a taxi driver and trucker. On May 21, 1996, Johnson was found guilty for the aggravated sexual assault and murder of Leah Joette Smith that occurred on March 27, 1995. A jury sentenced him to death on May 30, 1996. Johnson confessed to the crime but later retracted his confession and said he made it under duress while in police custody. Johnson filed both state and federal petitions for writs of habeas corpus and an appeal with the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but the applications and appeal were denied.

While on death row, Johnson became a devout Christian through the evangelizing of other inmates, particularly Keith Clay. In 2003, Johnson met Burnett Clay, a woman who ministered on death row and was the adoptive mother of Keith Clay. Clay took on a maternal role with Johnson in addition to being his spiritual adviser. Through Clay, Johnson also met and became friends with Clay's sister, Helen Phillips. Johnson referred to Clay as his mother and Phillips as his aunt.

In 2005, Johnson became pen pals and friends with Joanna Vaughn through the Friends Meeting of Austin, a Quaker group that regularly sends Christmas cards to death row inmates in Texas and facilitates pen pals. Johnson and Vaughn corresponded regularly until Johnson’s execution in 2009.

Before his execution, Johnson created a will that bequeathed all his belongings to Clay. (In an oral history interview with Texas After Violence Project, Clay states that she only received a few books that belonged to Johnson and not his diaries, writings or any other materials.) Clay arranged for Johnson to be cremated per his wishes and buried him alongside Keith Clay. In his last statement, Johnson called for abolishment of the death penalty. On February 12, 2009, Burnett Clay, Helen Phillips and Joanna Vaughn witnessed the execution of Johnny Ray Johnson.

Sources:

- Clay, Burnett and Helen Phillips. Interview with Burnett Clay and Helen Phillips. May 16, 2009. Texas After Violence Project Collection of Oral History Videos, Human Rights Documentation Initiative, University of Texas Libraries, the University of Texas at Austin. http://av.lib.utexas.edu/index.php?title=TAVP:Burnett_Clay_and_Helen_Phillips_1 (accessed March 25, 2015)

- Johnson, Johnny Ray. Letter to Joanna Vaughn. 2008 June 6. Box 1, Folder 3. Johnny Ray Johnson correspondence to Joanna Vaughn, Human Rights Documentation Initiative, University of Texas Libraries, the University of Texas at Austin.

- Johnson, Johnny Ray. Last Statement. Texas Department of Criminal Justice. http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_info/johnsonjohnnylast.html (accessed March 25, 2015)

- Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Death Row Offenders: Johnny Ray Johnson. http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_info/johnsonjohnny.jpg (accessed March 25, 2015)