Convicted Columbia killer will be put to death decades later

The Missouri Supreme Court has finally set an execution date for Ernest Lee Johnson. He’s the Columbia man accused of killing three convenience store workers with a hammer in 1994. He is set to be executed by lethal injection October 5th. Johnson had asked that his execution be carried out by firing squad, citing a brain condition that could cause him to have seizures during lethal injection. But the U.S. Supreme Court last month refused to consider his appeal. Missouri state law does not authorize execution by firing squad.