Opinion ID: 2344370
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Walter Johnson.

Text: Summary: Johnson had done some carpentry work for a married couple. He went to their home and asked to use the phone. After the female victim caught Johnson stealing jewelry, he shot the male victim and beat the female victim to death with a poker. The jury found the murder involved extreme suffering, was committed to escape detection, and occurred contemporaneous to other felonies. As to the male victim the jury found only the catch-all mitigating factor; as to the female victim the jury found that Johnson was under extreme mental or emotional disturbance. Although Johnson received a death sentence for the killing of the female victim, the jury determined that the aggravating factors did not outweigh the mitigating factor for the male victim. We reversed Johnson's convictions after determining that his confession had been illegally obtained. State v. Johnson, 120 N.J. 263, 576 A. 2d 834 (1990). He ultimately pled guilty to two counts of non-capital murder and was sentenced to consecutive life terms. Comparison: Defendant concedes that his case may present slightly more culpability than Johnson, but contends that any difference is sufficient to justify the fact that Johnson, after a reversed death sentence, ultimately received a life sentence. The State points out that a jury determined that Johnson, unlike defendant, was affected by mental defect or disturbance. Johnson's initial death sentence, despite the jury's determination that he suffered from a mental defect or disturbance, is an indicator that defendant's death sentence is not disproportionate to Johnson's sentence. Other than that finding, these cases have similar degrees of moral blameworthiness, victimization, and character.