May 16, 1993 The Execution Of A Congregation Member
OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Rev. J. David Wells watched from the front row as the man who became his friend died. Larry Joe Johnson was led into the death chamber at the Starke, Fla., prison. Two guards strapped him into the electric chair. A metal cap was placed on top of his head. The condemned man made eye contact with the minister, and seemed to smile as the black hood was draped over his shoulders. The executioner pulled a lever that gave life to 2,000 volts of electricity. Larry Joe Johnson stiffened in the three-legged chair, and then slumped as smoke seeped from the bottom of his pants. Wells and the other 19 witnesses were led from the room. At the gate, they saw a white hearse and two funeral home attendants. “I was wiped out physically,” Wells said. “It was very painful for him. That’s a terrible, cruel way to die.” Johnson, a native of McLean County, Ky., was found guilty of shooting a 67-year-old gasoline station clerk during a 1979 robbery that netted $150. The execution ended more than 13 years of legal wrangling during which time he received four death warrants and an equal number of reprieves. Wells, 51, pastors the 1,000-member Good Shepherd Church in Owensboro. Johnson attended the church from 1976 until 1979 when he and a 17-year-old female acquaintance suddenly left for Florida. “He was adopted at a very young age by an aunt and uncle who went to our church. We socialized several times and I found Larry a very likable person. He was always on the move, a big talker. We had a big fund-raising drive and he bought a pew. We hit it off well. I considered us friends.” Johnson served two tours of duty in Vietnam. After his discharge, he joined the Kentucky National Guard where he suffered a head injury from a smoke grenade explosion. He was granted a psychiatric disability. “I can’t speak for his life before he started coming to our church Garret Mathews
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