HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -
An Adams County jury has decided that Christopher Johnson should be executed for the 2010 murder of a wildlife officer. A death penalty expert says they had to weigh his life circumstances against his crime.
In Pennsylvania, the death penalty is decided by a jury - unlike other sentences - explained Jules Epstein, an associate law professor at Widener Law.
"[The legislature decided that] this punishment is so severe that it should be decided by a body representative of the community," Epstein said.
During jury selection, all jurors said they would be willing to give fair consideration to both the death penalty and a life sentence.
Earlier this week, the jury convicted Johnson of intentionally killing an on-duty Wildlife Conservation Officer. Prosecutors say Johnson, who was a convicted felon, was not allowed to carry a gun and killed Grove because he did not want to go back to jail.
In order for the jury to sentence Johnson to death, they had to unanimously agree that prosecutors proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that an aggravating circumstance surrounded the murder. These circumstances are varied and set forth in the law. For example, a murder would have occurred in an aggravating circumstance if it happened during another violent crime, such as a rape.
In Johnson's case, prosecutors say there were four aggravating circumstances. First, Johnson had previous felony convictions involving potential violence. Second, he murdered Grove while convicting a felony (possessive a firearm when he was not supposed to). Third, he killed an on-duty officer and, fourth, he killed Grove to prevent him from testifying against him.
"Without an aggravating factor, the death penalty is out of the question," Epstein said.
If the jury believes prosecutors have proved even one of these circumstances, they may consider sentencing the defendant to death -- but they can't stop there.
Epstein said evidence about the defendant's life prior to the incident must be considered. This could be anything from the fact that a person served in the military, has brain damage or cured cancer.
In Johnson's case, his family said his life should be spared since he was abandoned by his father as a child and fell into the wrong crowd as a teenager. Despite that, they say he became a loving father to his daughter even when he suffered bouts of depression and alcoholism.
Johnson himself even took the stand and apologized for murdering Grove.
Having heard testimony from both sides, the jury then had to decide if the aggravating circumstances outweighed the plea of Johnson, his friends and family.
In other words, they must answer this question: Does the fact that Johnson's father abandoned him and the fact that he apologized mean he deserves to be spared the death penalty?
Epstein said each juror must weigh the testimony on an imaginary scale. If each and every juror decides that the scale tips in favor of the death penalty, they must sentence Johnson to death. If the opposite happens, Johnson will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In the end, they chose to sentence him to death.
If the jurors could not all agree, Johnson would have automatically spend life in prison.
Johnson's case will now automatically be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
"There will be significant review [before he is executed]," Epstein said.
Christopher Johnson
