Oklahoma set to execute man convicted of killing ex-girlfriend and baby in Tulsa fire
By Chantelle Navarro
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MCALESTER, Oklahoma (KOCO) — Raymond Johnson is set to be executed Thursday for the 2007 murders of his ex-girlfriend, Brooke Whitaker, and her 7-month-old daughter, Kya, in Tulsa, after brutally attacking them and setting their home on fire.
Evidence markers from the scene showed the gas can Johnson used to burn down Whitaker’s home in late June 2007. The living room furniture was blackened and charred.
Johnson attacked Whitaker with a hammer, then doused her, her baby and their surroundings with gasoline. Whitaker died in the hospital, and Kya succumbed to her burns.
He is set to be executed by lethal injection at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.
Elizabeth Overman, president of the Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, expressed opposition to the execution.
“The crime is a travesty. But the state response to the crime is an even greater travesty,” Overman said.
The group offered condolences to the victims’ family but argued that Johnson’s execution would not bring healing.
“The state, in response, executing Mr. Johnson is not helping. It doesn’t return those people to the family,” Overman said.
Johnson was previously convicted in a shooting death in the 1990s and later released on parole.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond urged the board to deny clemency, saying Johnson’s heinous crime shattered a family and left three children to grow up without their mother and baby sister.
During the clemency hearing, Johnson’s lawyers presented videos from his family and friends, arguing that he is a changed man. Johnson also addressed the board.
“I know the love shared because to know Brooke and Kya was to love them. Today I sit here responsible for their deaths. I tried to plead guilty, and I got it,” Johnson said.
Whitaker’s surviving daughter, Brooke, shared the pain Johnson caused her family.
“He took everything. Every night these past 19 years have been exhausting. Growing up with what should’ve been grows on me—birthdays, graduations, weddings, pregnancy, births and grandchildren is just a small portion of what my mom’s missed out on,” she said.
The only way to stop the execution now is if Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt intervenes. His office has not yet commented.
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