Nikolaus Johnson – black, age 25

Sentenced to death in Blountville, Tennessee
By: a jury
Date of crime: November 2004
Prosecution’s case/defense response: Johnson was found guilty of murdering Officer Mark Vance. Officer Vance was responding to a domestic call in which Johnson found out his girlfriend had lied about having an abortion and threatened to kill the first person who came through the door. Johnson wanted to skip the sentencing portion of the/his hearing as he said “he wasn’t begging no-one for nothing.” Johnson also had several outbursts during trial ranging from calling one member of the jury a member of the Ku Klux Klan and calling another out for sleeping. Johnson was forced to wear a shock belt during trial to control his outbursts.
Prosecutor(s):
Defense lawyer(s): Jim Bowman and Stacy Street
Sources: Newport News Daily Press 04/25/07 (2007 WLNR 8180155), AP Alert 4/25/07 (TN 14:55:28), 4/25/07 (TN 13:24:25), 4/28/07 (TN 14:59:47)