A Texas man was executed on Tuesday evening, 13 years after he brutally murdered his grandmother. Matthew Johnson, 49, was convicted for the violent death of Nancy Harris, 76, a gas station clerk, who was soaked with lighter fluid and set on fire during a robbery in 2012 in Garland, Texas.
He was pronounced dead at 6:53 PM following his last words.
“First, I want to thank God. Without Him, I wouldn’t be here. I appreciate the life I was given,” Johnson stated. He turned to Harris’s family, expressing his remorse and seeking their forgiveness, claiming he hadn’t intended to hurt her.
Johnson, who had previously apologized to his wife and children, admitted, “I made the wrong choice and now I face the consequences.”
In his address to another death row inmate, he noted, “Jesus is the way.” Johnson was 36 during the attack on May 20, 2012, where he approached the convenience store holding a bottle of lighter fluid and a lighter.
According to court documents, Johnson entered the store, poured the liquid over Harris, stole cigarettes, lighters, and cash, and then set the store ablaze before fleeing.
He was arrested within an hour after the crime. Harris succumbed to her injuries five days later but managed to inform the authorities about Johnson before she passed away.
During a 2013 trial, he expressed regret for his actions and referred to himself as “the world’s worst scum.”
Johnson claimed he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time and insisted that the lighter fluid was intended just to intimidate Harris, not to kill her. His appeals against the death sentence were ultimately unsuccessful.
His execution was the fourth in Texas this year, contributing to a total of 18 executions in the United States so far this year.
