User:BlondieWriter/Draft of article

Life
Johnson lived in Walnut Grove, Carthage, Mississippi. He was well liked in the area and had no prior criminal record. Expert evidence concluded that Johnson suffered from organism brain disorder.

Case
J.T. Trest (53) was shot outside Sallie Franklin's home on June 2nd 1979 around 2:00-2:30am. The prosecution's theory was that Edward tried to burgle and possibly rape Franklin but was interrupted. Then, that he encountered Trest and shot him.

Several witnesses claim Johnson was at a card game at the time the crime was said to have occurred and didn't leave until after 2:30am. In the time since execution occurred, Johnson's lawyers located a woman, Mary Darby who claimed to have an alibi for Johnson, being with him during the time of the crime. She volunteered her testimony at the courthouse but was supposedly told to "go home and mind her own business".

Johnson claimed his confession was coerced. During interviews, Johnson said it was forced by police in a deserted wood whilst they were threatening to shoot him. The alleged confession on 3rd June 1979 was recorded and written up. The recording was not used by the prosecution, only the written version.

There were issues of misidentification in the case when Sallie Franklin who knew Edward said that initially Edward was not responsible for the crime. But later at the trial claimed he was. Sallie was never presented with a formal line-up procedure.

Johnson had two lawyers, R. Jess Brown and Firmist Alexander who's work was limited in representation due to also being black in Mississippi during the 1980s. Later, on death row, Johnson was represented by Clive Stafford Smith.