Columnist Jamala Rogers
After almost two years of steadfastly proclaiming his innocence, Kevin Johnson made a bizarre and shocking confession on the witness stand Saturday.
Johnson, now 21 years old, was on trial for the murder of police Sgt. William McEntee who was shot and killed in the summer of 2005.
This case has all the makings of a whodunit movie. Unfortunately, it is real and has become a nightmare for the Johnson and McEntee families. In American justice, where the crime is interracial, the family of color’s nightmare will continue. Johnson’s jury couldn’t decide on his fate and the judge declared a mistrial.
Here’s some possible reasons why.
William McEntee was a veteran Kirkwood cop who was known to be anything but a model officer in neighboring Meacham Park, a predominant and historic black community. Nicknamed “Big Mac”, many a young black man had many a story of police abuse for me when I attended a community vigil in Kirkwood shortly after the shooting incident. On the day of the trial, graffiti appeared on a south St. Louis building, “No tears for McEntee!” McEntee’s memorial in a Kirkwood park has been defaced several times.
Kevin Johnson became the prime suspect because the police said that he was distraught over his little brother’s death. Kirkwood police came to their home for a search for reasons that remain unclear.
Joseph “Bam Bam” Long was Kevin’s 12 year old brother who according to the autopsy died of heart failure. Family members said police did not try to save his life and instead made all the family leave the house. A desperate mother tried to return inside to her dying child but was blocked by McEntee. Those officers who came to the scene admitted under oath that they walked around and over the child and attempted no life-saving efforts during the house search.
Robert McCullough, St. Louis Country Prosecutor, wanted to personally prosecute this alleged cop-killer case. McCullough whose police father was killed in the line of duty comes from a family of law enforcers including some that are St. Louis cops. Those in observance of the trial admit that McCullough put on quite a show. The media was allowed in the court room, a most unusual practice for this kind of case.
But this was a most unusual trial.
Some of the prosecutor’s witnesses were given deals for their testimony. For example, Anthony Davis traded in his possible 21 years for intimidating a witness to a six month sentence on misdemeanor charges.
Supporters of Johnson believe that other witnesses were intimidated. An elderly woman facing cancer testified that she was an eyewitness to the murder. She knew Kevin personally but didn’t give such a vivid account until her third interview by police.
These supporters also believe that Kevin’s abrupt confession was forced. One of those supporters called me last week to tell me that witnesses were being threatened by police to corroborate their murder theory and that Kevin would not get a fair trial.
With a cop dead, a “hang ‘em high” prosecutor taking center stage, a defendant who is young and black with no resources, a racialized atmosphere created by the media, it was not looking good for Kevin Johnson. Kevin Johnson gets to see another day. The American justice system gets another chance to prove itself.