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Convicted Atmore Baby Killer Gets October Execution Date
September 17, 2011
An October 20 execution date has been set for an Atmore man who asked for the death penalty after admitting to the beating death of his 6-month old son.
The execution date was announced Friday by the Alabama Supreme Court for Christopher Thomas Johnson.
Johnson testified that he purposefully beat his son Elias Ocean Johnson to death on February 20, 2005. He said he killed his son because he hated his wife.
“You go see Jesus,” were the last words Johnson said to his son, he testified at his trial.
Johnson fired his public defenders and served as his own attorney during his 2006 Escambia County trial, telling the judge and jury that he wanted the death penalty for his actions. It took the jury less than a half hour to return a guilty verdict, and the death penalty was imposed.
Under Alabama law, the Court of Criminal Appeals was required by Alabama law to review the case. Last Friday, the court upheld the capital murder conviction and death sentence in late 2009.
“This court is convinced that Johnson’s decision to represent himself on appeal and his decision not to file an appellate brief on his own behalf was knowing and voluntary,” the court said in the decision.
Johnson has declined further appeals since 2009.
Pictured top: Christopher Johnson of Atmore is set to be executed October 20 for murdering his 6-month old son in this home in the 100 block of Horner Street in Atmore in February 2005. File photo courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
43 Responses to “Convicted Atmore Baby Killer Gets October Execution Date”
Elias Ocean was my beautiful grandson. I know justice will be done on Oct 20th
I know God says we should forgive however Its been 6 years and 8mths since this monster took our little angel from us, I will never forgive Christopher Johnson ! May he burn in hell!!!
I am the mother, I have lived with this for too long. Although I don’t agree with capital punishment, I will not lose sleep over this execution. My son was the most delightful calm little boy I have ever known. Christopher Johnson took him from me. I have spent years trying to heal from this unimaginable pain. I am scarred by this, and Christopher took away my son, my trust in other people, and even my desire to ever have another child. I still have a hard time being around children because of the sorrow it makes me feel. Everyday I see children that are Elias’ age, and I wonder what he would have been like. I can tell you one thing, Thursday will be a day of closure for me, whether that is wrong or right. I curse the day that I met that man. I am sorry that the people of Atmore, myself, and my son had to be subjected to this horrible crime. The people of Atmore were some of the kindest and most welcoming people I have ever met. I am looking for my former neighbors, Joan and Herb Hackman. I would like to talk to them, they are two of the finest human beings on the planet, and were such a strong support to me during the darkest time of my life. If anyone knows them please let them know I would like to contact them…..
Christopher Johnson should stay in prison for the rest of his life.
In a very harsh prison environment!!! He heinously killed a small, defenceless
child.
Death Penalty is never the answer.
to 429SCJ & me either:
Mr. Johnson was not a native of Atmore. The good People of our community welcomed him with opened arms, game him a job and even donated furniture to him & his family. Once in a while we have drifters that are seeking new beginnings in our town. This was a shock to everyone and it is very unfortunate that it happened in Atmore or anywhere for that matter.
REGARDING:
“Perhaps we read a different Bible? Mine states that all sin is the same in the eyes of God. ”
Book, chapter and verse please.
That sin — any sin — is worthy of condemnation and eternal damnation is definitely there, but that no sin is worse in the eyes of the Lord than any other sin is a claim I haven’t found yet. I remember Moses said the people had sinned a great sin (Exodus 32:31), this implies greater and lesser sins. But that was Moses, maybe he was mistaken. However, considering the fact that he was talking to the Lord at the time and the Lord didn’t see fit to correct him, it’s reasonable to assume the Lord agreed with his assessment.
Just in case the Lord didn’t agree, though, we turn to the words of Christ in which he said it would be better for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 11:24) than for those who saw his works and heard his teaching and rejected him. That reads to me like Jesus is saying some sins are worthy of harsher punishment than others.
Also please note that forgiveness is contingent upon repentance. Even though God wishes to forgive, he requires repentance first.
David off topic AGAIN
Hello NoPlaceTheSame. Please do not be offended by formerAtmore. I share and understand his frustration. We have fond memories of Atmore, it holds a special place in our hearts. I know things are bad everywhere, but for the first time, we find ourselves in uncharted territory. The government is in debt over it’s head, and is in deep trouble on all fronts. I see the possibility of America entering a period of rectification, renewal, and hope. It is a simple matter of identifing the factors that led to our decline, and removing them from our enviroment. I do not know why Mr Johnson Murdered his child, he probably does not know himself. I do know that Mr Johnson is an element that must be removed from our set. May God have mercy on his soul.
To formeratmore:
you said (Atmore is not the same place that i grew up in. I said goodbye to it a long time ago….) The world is not the same as the place you grew up in. It’s not just Atmore and to be honest this sort of thing doesn’t happen that often around here. Maybe Mobile or Pensacola, where these crimes happen daily, would be more appropriate for someone like yourself.
**Mental or not, not the question he took a babies life. He did not deserve to be a father and I am sure god will not forgive him.(as we should not) But we can make excuses and feel sorry for him lol. Think about the act and its only commen sence HE IS GOING TO HELL.**
Perhaps we read a different Bible? Mine states that all sin is the same in the eyes of God. Your judging this man and condemning him to Hell is just as bad in the eyes of God as his actions. No one knows his heart except him and God. My Bible also says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that God can forgive anything and anyone. Lastly, Jesus tells us as Christians if we can not forgive our neighbor than our heavenly Father can not forgive us. Please, before you speak so matter-of-factly about my God, know what you are talking about. You seem to be confused.
FYI, the man is obviously mentally ill. It doesn’t take a trained professional to see that. Could I forgive him if it were my sweet child? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t strive to or know God will. I can’t imagine the hurt his mother still experiences, but I hope she doesn’t let hate tarnish her heart and hinder her relationship with God.
yep, Noah celebrated a good harvest by getting drunk
and him an old man, too
low level of alcohol is right—but I recall sons having to back into their fathers tent to cover his being nude because he was drunk . Also a wedding was one of the first great act of changing water to wine. Sounds as if it could go both ways.
Cygie – “Render unto Ceaser that which is Ceaser’s” – time for him to do some renderin’.
@tired: Household wine, as referenced in the Bible, had only a minor alcohol content, but alcohol wasn’t “celebrated”. Wine was part of daily mealtimes because the slight amount of alcohol in the wine prevented the parasites that were, and are now, so common in the water of the middle east and Mediterranean regions. As a matter of fact, the are plenty of passages in the scriptures that decry drunkenness and overindulgence.
This is an awful and sad story all around. This man was off-balance before the incident that took his son’s life.
REGARDING:
“David- the “wine” had alcohol in it.”
Yes, it did. I was just being specific. The tendency to impair thinking is not the thing the Bible praises about wine. Or at least I don’t get that impression.
For that matter, they had beer back then but it doesn’t mention it that I can think of.
All grapes had wild yeast on them. Any juice squeezed out of grapes would soon have some alcoholic content. I believe it was Welch who finally found a way to stop grape juice from fermenting but that was relatively recently.
David off topic
forgive only the forgivable.if u want to pray do it for the family that lost the angel.what if someone did that to your child?would u talk the same?
David- the “wine” had alcohol in it. What this young fellow did was totally wrong–but he admitted it and ask for death. Most of these people like this get “free” lawyers (you and I pay for them) and fight the case for years. I don’t know what should be done to him, but death sounds good. You’ll see the fighting of the charge in a case coming up where a fellow beat a little child to death and tried to say the child fell down.
Cygie-Really?
Had this been your 6 month old baby beaten to death, would you feel the same forgiveness in your heart? I don’t think so. I know I wouldn’t. I can and have forgiven alot of things throughout my life, but killing a poor innocent baby is UNFORGIVEABLE! Hopefully, GOD will forgive him, but I don’t think he’ll find any compassion from his neighbors.
Imagine this sweet baby’s face, looking up to his daddy waiting on him to pick him up, but instead he starts hitting and beating him until he’s dead. There is NO forgiveness for this. This is a MONSTER and we as his jury should condemn him to the fullest extent of the law. I hope someone in this prison has beat him senseless to let him get just a small taste of what that baby went thru.
The sooner they pull the switch on this one-the better!
Hello Me Either. I drive down the streets of Atmore, and I wonder how things went so very wrong there. I see the crack babies, have grown into young adults. I went up to Oak Hill recently to work on the family plot, on the way back home, I stopped for chicken. I was seated and just started to enjoy my meal, when two young women came in, with a group of crack children in tow. I had to get up and empty my tray and leave, I had lost my appetite. I had thought of moving back to Atmore, I think I will just visit instead.
I think Mr. Johnson must have been deeply sorry for what he did, or he would not have refused competent defense and then requested the death penalty. I hope he has been able to make his peace with God. Anyone who wishes another human being into hell has no conception of what hell will be like. The wonderful Book of supreme authority says, “He shall have judgment without mercy who hath shewed no mercy”, or to put it more plainly: if you are not a merciful person, you yourself will be judged unmercifully. Just a little something to think about…
CYGIE, I understand your forgiveness policy, however some crimes are not included! As a women who can not bare children I say firmly any crime commited againest a child IS NOT FORGIVEABLE. Picture yourself standing over that boy and doing what this father did. If you are not as angry as us than whats wrong with you. Pray for him however i think he is a waste of good oxygen!
Mental or not, not the question he took a babies life. He did not deserve to be a father and I am sure god will not forgive him.(as we should not) But we can make excuses and feel sorry for him lol. Think about the act and its only commen sence HE IS GOING TO HELL.
The last words he told his little baby…..”You go see jesus”? Well heres some last words for him…..GO SEE THE DEVIL!!!!! Straight to HELL!!!!! BABY KILLER!!!
REGARDING:
“Alcohol is celebrated in the Bible!”
Not alcohol, but wine definitely is. Nonetheless, drunkenness is condemned.
David for moderation or abstinence
Strange how one act you committ can define your entire lifetime….one life and one only and you live it like this guy…he must be miserable inside…such a terrible waste for a young family….hard to think it was 6 years ago
If his last words to his son were “you go see Jesus”, he, the father must believe in Jesus. For the father to ask for the death penalty and freely confess to killing his son he must know he is guilty. He must have been very mentally ill to have killed his child, why would a court allow him to defend his self if he is evidently mentally ill? Either way it seems to me that he has made his peace with God and is ready to go (die). Let him go, I’m sure if he is in a saner mind now the agony of living with having killed his son is eating him alive. Jesus forgive him. May he find peace.
While I don’t condone the crime, I cannot support the death penalty – I truly believe that this man is not being punished through execution. He should be imprisoned for the rest of his life in solitary and truly punished for his crime, not simply lie down and go to sleep!
Alcohol is celebated in the Bible! So there goes the theory of evil!! Some people are just theat….evil!!!
if i remember right this man was drunk when he killed his baby. just shows the evils of alcohol!!
what a loser…good think he asked for the death penalty. My heart goes out to the mother. I hope everday feels like an eternity for this monster.
Has anyone stopped to think and just ask themselves”How do we go from everyday citizens to the front page of some horrific act?” I often wonder when reading the news and hearing about different issues what has taken over this world, because things just keep happening! But in the end i refer back to my bible and it is surely fullfilling itself! May we as citizens stay prayed up and grounded because there are surely more “hard to believe” and more”Oh my God” events in store.” The sad part is most of the time it touches families that no one ever had a clue this was going on or would happen to them ! May God prosper over evil and I pray that we will understand it better by and by.!!!!!!!
OMG>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I used to live in this apartment. No wonder it was spooky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Good riddance” and “idiot” are not compassionate terms. While I understand a life was lost and justice must be served, I don’t see it being in the place of man to hate and judge. I hope y’all get on your knees tomorrow in church and ask God to forgive you for the blackness in your own hearts before you cast stones at this person.
WHY DIDN;T THIS IDIOT TAKE HIS OWN LIFE AND LEAVE THE BABY THERE??? MAKES NO SENSE…..AN INNOCENT LITTLE BABY THAT CAN’T PROTECT ITSELF FROM A HUGE ADULT. HE SHOULD BE BEATEN TO DEATH
Can I flip the switch?
I say give him what he wants……
This man is very disturbed! How on earth can someone kill their own baby, just because they hate the other parent?! OMG!!! And it has taken 6 years for justice to be done. Where is the mother?
AMEN TO THE GOOD RIDDANCE !
Atmore is not the same place that i grew up in. I said goodbye to it a long time ago….
Why wait??? I say put him to the front of the line.
Rather than hate and judge, why not instead pray that in his last days he sees the error of his ways and asks for God to give him forgiveness for what he has done. Instead of “good riddance” how about asking “do you know Jesus?” and have you accepted Him as your savior. Even the thief on the cross was granted access to paradise.
429scj……me either!!!!!!!!!!!!! who were these people anyway? were they locals? I have never heard of them and been here all my life. Atmore , as every town, has theor low lifes and this is one that will NOT be missed! I hope he rots where he’s going.
Good Riddance!
I never would have imagined in my worst nightmares, that this horror would come to Horner Street.
At my age, you do not wish for time to pass quickly, but for this, Oct. 20 can not come soon enough. Rest in Peace Elias Ocean.