FINAL REQUEST: Johnny Ray Johnson urged his listeners to speak out against the death penalty at his execution Thursday.

HUNTSVILLE — Houston rapist-murderer Johnny Ray Johnson, condemned for beating and stomping a woman to death when she refused to participate in sex, died in Texas’ death house Thursday with a hymn on his lips.

In a rambling final statement, Johnson denounced the Texas death penalty, calling Livingston’s Allan Polunsky Unit, home of the state’s death row, “a dungeon.”

“Death row is full of isolated hearts and suppressed minds,” said Johnson as a small group of friends and relatives he asked to witness his death stifled sobs. “We are filled with love looking for affection and a way to understand.

“I am a death row resident of the Polunsky dungeon. Why does my heart ache? … The wall of darkness crushed in on me. Life without meaning is life without purpose. It is no life at all. … Does anyone care who I am or the love I hold in my heart?”

Johnson urged his listeners to speak out against the death penalty.

At the conclusion of his statement, Johnson turned to the witness room and said, “See you in heaven.” He then began singing a hymn, “Jesus, keep me near the cross. … There’s a bright and shining.”

The song ended as he lapsed into unconsciousness as the lethal drugs took effect.

Johnson, 51, was put to death for the 1995 murder of Leah Joette Smith, 41, whom he raped and beat after she refused to participate in sex. The Texas Court of Appeals rejected the killer’s last appeal Wednesday, followed by the U.S. Supreme Court late Thursday afternoon.

Johnson was declared dead at 6:19 p.m., eight minutes after the drugs began to flow.

Earlier Thursday, Johnson talked with visitors, listened to the radio and seemed, prison officials said, remarkably upbeat.

For his last meal, he ordered two chicken-fried steaks, 20 fried shrimp, four fried chicken breasts, four fried eggs without yolks, two biscuits with butter and honey, two large pieces of peanut brittle and 2 gallons of black coffee with cream and sugar on the side.

Prison spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said the request would be honored if the requested items were available in the prison kitchen.

Court testimony revealed that Smith’s murder grew out of a sex-for-drugs deal gone bad.

After smoking crack cocaine with Johnson, Smith reneged on the deal. Johnson ripped off her clothes and threw her to the ground. When the woman fought back , Johnson repeatedly slammed her head against a curb, then raped her.

Johnson then stomped on her face and fled. He returned minute later to retrieve his wallet. Johnson raped the woman a second time, stole her boots and ran away.

Smith, 41, choked on blood that pooled in her throat, a medical examiner told jurors.

In a series of confessions, Johnson admitted killing Smith and at least three other women in Houston and Austin and raping more than a dozen.

allan.turner@chron.com

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