Post by CCADP on Aug 20, 2005 18:50:55 GMT -5
Convicted killer apologizes, not 'half of what' his victims were
06:43 PM EDT on Saturday, August 20, 2005
Associated Press
RALEIGH — A man convicted of murdering a Marine and his lifelong friend outside a North Carolina State University football game apologized through gasps to his victims' families and his own as a jury considered whether to sentence him to die.
Timothy Wayne Johnson, 23, was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder in the death of Kevin McCann and the second-degree murder of 2nd Lt. Brett Harman.
Harman, a native of Park Ridge, Ill., stationed at Camp Lejeune, and McCann, an insurance broker visiting from Chicago, tangled with Johnson and his younger brother, Tony, in a tailgating area outside Wolfpack home opener Sept. 4, 2004.
Timothy Johnson admitted shooting the men, but testified during his trial that he did so in hopes of scaring them away. Tony Johnson will face trial later on first-degree murder charges.
A parade of McCann's and Harman's relatives testified Friday as the sentencing phase of Timothy Johnson's trial began, praising the 23-year-old victims and describing the pain of their loss.
Then Johnson's relatives took the stand one by one to beg the jury not to choose the death penalty.
When Johnson's turn arrived, he spoke haltingly, as if choking between words. He expressed his respect for Harman and McCann.
"I just wish I could have been half of what they were," he said.
Johnson also thanked his parents for standing by him, saying: "It's not your fault. It's mine."
Johnson could be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole because he has been convicted of a prior violent felony.
Jurors will consider a sentence next week.
The panel also heard from the families of McCann and Harman, who was due to ship out for Iraq in January.
"My family and I are left haunted by the horror of Brett's murder," his mother, Nancy Johnson Tighe, testified.
The victims were longtime friends and well-known in each other's homes. McCann's father, Dennis, coached Harman in wrestling and considered the young man as close as a son.
He praised the two as "courageous, brave and honest, ... loving young men without a mean bone in their bodies."
"You would be hard-pressed to find a more positive, enthusiastic family with a genuine zest for life than the McCanns," Dennis McCann testified. "Now, everything is shrouded in gray. Everything seems dark."
As Johnson watched, his own family asked the jury to spare his life.
"Please let Tim live," his mother, Ann Johnson, testified, as her son began to shake. She was the last witness to speak.
"I'm just so sorry for your loss," she said to the victims' families. "I'm sorry for any part -- that I didn't make right decisions in how I raised him -- anything I could have done to stop him," she said. "We ask you to forgive us."
She began to leave the witness stand, then turned back and addressed her son.
"I love you, Tim," she said.
06:43 PM EDT on Saturday, August 20, 2005
Associated Press
RALEIGH — A man convicted of murdering a Marine and his lifelong friend outside a North Carolina State University football game apologized through gasps to his victims' families and his own as a jury considered whether to sentence him to die.
Timothy Wayne Johnson, 23, was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder in the death of Kevin McCann and the second-degree murder of 2nd Lt. Brett Harman.
Harman, a native of Park Ridge, Ill., stationed at Camp Lejeune, and McCann, an insurance broker visiting from Chicago, tangled with Johnson and his younger brother, Tony, in a tailgating area outside Wolfpack home opener Sept. 4, 2004.
Timothy Johnson admitted shooting the men, but testified during his trial that he did so in hopes of scaring them away. Tony Johnson will face trial later on first-degree murder charges.
A parade of McCann's and Harman's relatives testified Friday as the sentencing phase of Timothy Johnson's trial began, praising the 23-year-old victims and describing the pain of their loss.
Then Johnson's relatives took the stand one by one to beg the jury not to choose the death penalty.
When Johnson's turn arrived, he spoke haltingly, as if choking between words. He expressed his respect for Harman and McCann.
"I just wish I could have been half of what they were," he said.
Johnson also thanked his parents for standing by him, saying: "It's not your fault. It's mine."
Johnson could be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole because he has been convicted of a prior violent felony.
Jurors will consider a sentence next week.
The panel also heard from the families of McCann and Harman, who was due to ship out for Iraq in January.
"My family and I are left haunted by the horror of Brett's murder," his mother, Nancy Johnson Tighe, testified.
The victims were longtime friends and well-known in each other's homes. McCann's father, Dennis, coached Harman in wrestling and considered the young man as close as a son.
He praised the two as "courageous, brave and honest, ... loving young men without a mean bone in their bodies."
"You would be hard-pressed to find a more positive, enthusiastic family with a genuine zest for life than the McCanns," Dennis McCann testified. "Now, everything is shrouded in gray. Everything seems dark."
As Johnson watched, his own family asked the jury to spare his life.
"Please let Tim live," his mother, Ann Johnson, testified, as her son began to shake. She was the last witness to speak.
"I'm just so sorry for your loss," she said to the victims' families. "I'm sorry for any part -- that I didn't make right decisions in how I raised him -- anything I could have done to stop him," she said. "We ask you to forgive us."
She began to leave the witness stand, then turned back and addressed her son.
"I love you, Tim," she said.