Bio

Kia Levoy Johnson was born on December 23, 1964. Public records connected to his case describe him as a Texas man from the San Antonio area. He was a father of four and had worked as a cook before his execution. His background before the murder was marked by repeated contact with law enforcement, beginning with a lengthy juvenile record. According to the Texas Attorney General’s summary, Johnson had been arrested as a juvenile on seven occasions for seven separate offenses.

As an adult, Johnson continued to build a criminal record. He had several misdemeanor arrests and, in 1984, was arrested on a charge of aggravated robbery with serious bodily injury. On October 3, 1986, he was placed on 10 years of probation for burglary of a habitation. While on probation, he violated conditions that required him to report to his probation officer and avoid drug use. He also committed another burglary of a habitation, which resulted in an additional 10-year sentence.

Johnson was paroled in 1990, but that parole was revoked on November 21, 1991, after violations that included resisting arrest, evading arrest, and making terroristic threats. He was again released on parole on November 18, 1992. Less than one year later, he became the suspect in the robbery and murder of convenience store clerk William Matthew Rains. His parole was later revoked on March 17, 1994, based on failure to report, the capital murder offense, and firearm-related violations.

Johnson maintained his innocence in the years after his conviction. His supporters argued that the case against him relied heavily on witness identification from a surveillance video and claimed that his defense counsel performed poorly. His lawyers also later argued that he should not be executed because of intellectual disability claims, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the Fifth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeals.

Murder Story

In the early morning hours of October 29, 1993, Kia Levoy Johnson entered a Stop ’N Go convenience store in the San Antonio-area community of Balcones Heights, Texas. The clerk on duty was William Matthew Rains, a 32-year-old night manager and former Air Force airman. Store surveillance video showed the gunman entering the business, approaching the counter, pulling out a .32-caliber pistol, and shooting Rains once in the abdomen.

After Rains fell behind the counter, the attacker demanded the register key. Rains threw him a key, but the gunman could not open the register after the key broke. He then took the cash-register drawer, which contained about $23, and left the store. As he fled, cash-register tape trailed behind him. Investigators later said an imprint from the suspect’s shoe was left on the tape.

Rains did not die immediately. The surveillance tape showed him struggling for approximately 45 minutes to reach a phone after being shot. He was unable to call for help and later died from blood loss. His body was discovered later that morning when another person entered the store.

The store’s surveillance video became a key part of the investigation. After local news stations broadcast the footage, several people contacted police and identified Johnson as the man in the recording. A longtime acquaintance recognized him, and another acquaintance also identified him. Police also stated that Johnson was wearing distinctive clothing similar to the person shown in the video. Shoes found in Johnson’s closet were also said to match the imprint left at the crime scene.

Johnson was indicted by a Bexar County grand jury on January 25, 1994, for the capital murder of William Matthew Rains during the course of robbery. His trial took place in 1995. On February 8, 1995, a jury found him guilty of capital murder. After a separate punishment hearing, the jury answered the required Texas death-penalty special issues in a way that required a death sentence. On February 13, 1995, the trial court formally sentenced Johnson to death.

Johnson appealed his conviction and sentence, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed them. He later filed state and federal habeas petitions, including claims that his trial counsel had been ineffective. The Fifth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability in Johnson v. Cockrell, finding that the evidence against him was strong and that he had not shown the required legal prejudice from his attorney’s actions.

In his final appeals, Johnson’s lawyers argued that he should not be executed because of an intellectual disability claim under the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling barring executions of intellectually disabled defendants. Courts rejected the claim, and the execution went forward.

Kia Levoy Johnson was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2003, in Huntsville, Texas. He was 38 years old. His final statement was directed to his family: “Tell mama I love her. Tell the kids I love them too. See y’all.” He was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. Texas Department of Criminal Justice records list him as the 305th person executed in Texas after executions resumed.