Johnny Frank Garrett and the Death Penalty

The death penalty is a punishment still carried out in more than half of the United States. It is also still used in federal and military cases. However, there are strict laws regarding when the use of the death penalty is appropriate, legally speaking. It is not something that is handled lightly, in most cases. It is also reserved for the most heinous of crimes. The death penalty is considered for nothing short of murder. Nonetheless, there are times when there is doubt as to whether the death penalty was the right punishment or if the party was even guilty of the crimes that resulted in the death penalty. Such was the case with Johnny Frank Garrett.

Johnny Frank Garrett was 17-years-old when he allegedly raped and murdered a 76-year-old nun in a Texas nunnery. He reportedly broke into the convent, entered Sister Benz's room, raped her and killed her. One piece of evidence against him was an alleged confession that he never signed and of which there are no audio recordings. Other evidence included a clairvoyant pointing the finger at Johnny and Johnny's fingerprints at the scene. According to "The Last Word," a documentary about Garrett, Garrett had been in the convent helping move furniture within a few weeks of the murder.

Other evidence at the site of the Benz murder included black curly hairs that clearly did not belong to the straight-haired caucasian Johnny Frank Garrett and which did not match the victim, a t-shirt that evidently did not belong to Johnny and an officer seeing Johnny near the convent that night. Johnny Frank Garrett lived across the street from the convent. Two knives were found at the scene, one was a butter knife with Garrett's prints on it, but neither was used to kill the nun. DNA evidence found at the scene was discarded by police. The State of Texas even threatened to sue Garrett's surviving family members if they asked for the DNA in a court of law.

A few outside factors make the Johnny Frank Garrett case even more intriguing. Other elderly women in the area had recently been raped and murdered in a very similar way. Johnny was not guilty of those crimes. Another man later confessed to killing the nun and was convicted of other killings. He also claimed the white t-shirt found at the scene of the crime was his. The very church that was traumatized by the elderly nun's death argued against the death penalty in Garrett's case. Not only was he only 17 when he was tried, he was also allegedly mentally handicapped and he may well have been innocent.

Johnny Frank Garrett supposedly committed murder in 1981. Eleven years later, he was put to death by lethal injection. He maintained his innocence until his death. Without any clear DNA evidence, there is no telling if Johnny Frank Garrett was truly guilty. However, there remains the question of whether there was enough evidence to convict him and whether executing a person with mental disabilities is morally correct.

Sources

Actual Innocence: Johnny Frank Garrett and Bubbles the Clairvoyant, retrieved 5/13/11, skepticaljuror.com/2010/04/fine-folks-of-amarillo-wanted-justice.html