Khorry Ramey

Khorry Ramey was only two years old when her father, Kevin Johnson, was arrested and sent to death row in Missouri. Over the next 17 years, while her father fought for his life, Khorry visited her father often and developed a close relationship with him. When Khorry's father was served a death warrant and had an execution date of November 29, 2022, it became apparent that he was losing his battle against the state of Missouri. Khorry was adamant about her desire to be present at the execution to be a support for her father, yet she was denied as a witness due to her age. In the state of Missouri, you must be at least 21 years old to witness an execution. Khorry was 19 years old at the time of her father's scheduled execution, the same age that her father was when he was convicted of murdering a police officer and sent to death row. Khorry and her father were both extremely frustrated to learn that the state of Missouri deems someone aged 19 to be too young to witness an execution, yet not too young to be sent to death row. Khorry pursued legal action to fight for the right to witness her father's execution, yet she lost this fight and was no less traumatized by the execution of her father without being present at the execution.

On May 20, 2023, I met with Khorry at her home in St. Louis to talk with her about the trauma that she has experienced throughout her life from having a father on death row. Our interview paid particular attention to the additional trauma that she went through over the year prior to our meeting, including the months leading up to her father's execution, her hard-fought battle to be a witness, and the trauma that she has suffered from losing that battle and, most importantly, losing her father to an execution. Khorry is seen with her father in the above picture, along with Khorry's infant son. Khorry's baby was born just weeks before her father's execution, providing her father the opportunity to meet his grandson before he was executed. 

Read more about Khorry's story in the following two articles by clicking on the links below:

Judge Responds to Woman's Request to Watch her Father's Execution

19-year-old daughter of man who killed Kirkwood police officer in 2005 seeks motion to watch execution