Angela Johnson

Angela Johnson See Dustin Honken

Johnson was born in Forest City, Iowa. Honken and Johnson were in a relationship at the time of the murders, and Johnson, who had a child from a previous marriage, was pregnant by Honken. Johnson was raised by extremely religious grandparents who would hold her down, wave Bibles over her head, and speak in tongues in an attempt to exorcise demons from her. Johnson's mother was an abusive and neglectful alcoholic. During Johnson's trial, it was revealed that she had been molested as a child.

Johnson's trial, sentencing, and commutation

In 2005, Johnson was found guilty of five counts of murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise. Prosecutors said she deserved to die since she willingly participated in the murder of children and lacked remorse. Johnson's defense team pointed to her dysfunctional upbringing and argued that she did not know Honken was going to kill the victims. Johnson admitted that she was involved in Honken's crimes, but blamed him for the murders and said he had manipulated her.

In June 2005, a federal jury condemned Johnson to death on four counts. She was formally sentenced to death on December 19, 2005. During her sentencing hearing, Johnson continued to blame Honken, but said "I regret I wasn't strong enough." She called him a "sociopath who will never admit to what he has done."

The presiding judge Mark W. Bennett stated, "I am troubled by the lack of certainty in the record concerning the precise involvement of Angela Johnson in these crimes". However, under federal law, he was bound to the jury's verdict. In July 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld the conviction, finding sufficient evidence to conclude that Johnson had participated in the murders.

In March 2012, Bennett vacated Johnson's death sentence, citing a failure by her attorneys to introduce evidence about her mental state from an "alarmingly" dysfunctional defense team.[32] In December 2014, federal prosecutors later announced they would not pursue a second death sentence for Johnson. Her lawyer said she was extremely relieved and grateful upon hearing of the decision. Later that month, she was re-sentenced to life in prison without parole. As part of an agreement, she agreed to drop all of her appeals.Johnson is currently serving her sentence at FCI Waseca.