Death row murderer who burnt great-gran alive shares sick final 'eternity' words

MATTHEW LEE JOHNSON, 49, SAID HE SMOKED $100 WORTH OF CRACK BEFORE ATTACKING A GREAT-GRANDMOTHER WORKING IN SHOP AND BURNING HER ALIVE TO STEAL CASH FROM THE REGISTER 03:13, 21 May

2025Updated 06:14, 21 May 2025 A Texas man was put to death on Tuesday night, exactly 13 years after a brutal robbery where he set a shop assistant on fire in a Dallas suburb. Matthew Lee

Johnson, 49, received the lethal injection at Huntsville's state penitentiary. He was convicted for the harrowing assault on 76 year old Nancy Harris on May 20, 2012. Johnson said he

had smoked $100 worth of crack before dousing the great-grandma with lighter fluid and igniting it. She suffered severe burns and passed away days later. When asked if he had any last words,

Johnson, gazing towards his victim's family members, he said: "As I look at each one of you, I can see her on that day. I please ask for your forgiveness. I never meant to hurt

her." He hoped: "I pray that she's the first person I see when I open my eyes and I spend eternity with." Further expressing remorse, Johnson appealed for forgiveness

from his spouse and children, admitting: "I made wrong choices, I've made wrong decisions, and now I pay the consequences,". Article continues below The reaction from

Harris' family, three sons, two daughters-in-law, and a grandchild, was subdued as they observed the execution without public comment thereafter. As the fatal injection began to work,

Johnson took a few sharp breaths, followed by what sounded like snores. Declared deceased at 6:53 p. m. CDT, his life ended 26 minutes post-administration of the lethal cocktail.

Johnson's execution marked the second one to take place on Tuesday in the US, with Benjamin Ritchie being administered a lethal injection earlier in Indiana for the 2000 murder of a

police officer. The executions are among four set to occur within roughly a week. Glen Rogers was put to death in Florida on May 15, and Oscar Smith is slated for lethal injection in

Tennessee on Thursday. Security footage captured part of the brutal attack on Harris who, despite suffering severe burns, managed to give a description of her assailant before succumbing to

her injuries. There was never any question about Johnson's guilt. At his 2013 trial, he confessed to setting Harris ablaze and voiced his regret. "I hurt an innocent woman. I took

a human being's life ... It was not my intentions to -- to kill her or to hurt her, but I did," he stated back then. Johnson claimed he was unaware of his actions at the time as he

had been under the influence, having smoked $100 worth of crack. His defence team informed the jury of Johnson's extensive history with drug addiction and childhood sexual abuse.

Harris had been a familiar face at the convenience store, working there for over a decade and living just a short walk away, her son testified. She left behind four sons, 11 grandchildren,

and seven great-grandchildren. Prosecutors recounted how Harris had only just started her Sunday morning shift when Johnson entered and attacked her. After Johnson nicked the cash from the

till, he set Harris alight and strolled out of the shop, as per court records. Harris desperately tried to put out the flames engulfing her and her clothes, fleeing the shop and crying out

for help before a police used a fire extinguisher to quell the fire on her body. Johnson was arrested about an hour later. Johnson's legal team didn't pursue any appeals this week

with the U.S. Supreme Court, according to David Dow, one of the prisoner's solicitors. Article continues below In previous appeals, Johnson's lawyers had argued his death sentence

was unconstitutional because he was improperly determined to be a future danger to society, a legal finding that was needed to sentence him to death. His most recent appeals had argued his

execution date had been illegally scheduled.