Deceased: Paul Beasley Johnson
Paul Beasley Johnson died over the weekend while receiving medical treatment in DOC's custody. He served over 40 years on death row and was awaiting a new penalty phase.
According to Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) records, Florida death row prisoner Paul Beasley Johnson died Saturday while in DOC custody.
Johnson was 74 years old at the time of his death and served over 40 years on Florida’s death row. According to a news article, Johnson died while receiving medical treatment at a hospital while in custody.
Background on Johnson’s Sentences of Death
Johnson’s case was fraught with error and had been heavily litigated for over 40 years. At the time of his death, Johnson was awaiting a new penalty phase, which was granted after Hurst v. Florida.1
Johnson was originally sentenced to death after a 1981 trial in Polk County.2 The sentence was affirmed on direct appeal.3
After a death warrant was signed for his execution, the Florida Supreme Court granted him a new trial in 1986. His retrial began in October 1987, but the judge granted a mistrial based on juror misconduct.
His case then proceeded to retrial in Alachua County in April 1988. After a retrial, the jury recommended three sentences of death by nonunanimous votes: “a vote of eight to four for the murder of William Evans, nine to three for the murder of Ray Beasley, and nine to three for the murder of Theron Burnham.”4
While one of Johnson’s postconviction appeals was pending, the governor signed Johnson’s second death warrant scheduling his execution for November 4, 2009.5 The Florida Supreme Court stayed the execution. In 2010, the Florida Supreme Court reversed his sentences of death due to prosecutorial misconduct and remanded for a new penalty phase.6
His resentencing occurred in 2013, where the jury recommended sentences of death on all three counts by a vote of 11-1.7 On direct appeal from the resentencing, the Florida Supreme Court vacated the sentences of death and granted another new penalty phase in light of Hurst due to the jury’s nonunanimous recommendations for death.8
The new penalty phase had not occurred yet. A status conference was set for December 15.
News Articles
Johnson v. State, 44 So. 3d 51, 55 (Fla. 2010).
Id.
Id. at n.2.
Id. at 56.
Id. at 74.
Johnson v. State, 205 So. 3d 1285, 1288 (Fla. 2016).
See generally id.