Bio 

Terrell M. Johnson was born on April 15, 1946. Public records connected to his capital case identify him as a white male from the United States. Most available documentation about Johnson begins with the events at Lola’s Tavern in Orange County, Florida. Before the murders, Johnson had pawned a pistol to James Dodson, the tavern owner. This transaction later became the reason Johnson returned to the tavern on December 4, 1979.

Murder Story

On December 4, 1979, Terrell M. Johnson went to Lola’s Tavern in Orange County, Florida, to get back a pistol he had pawned to James Dodson, the tavern’s owner and bartender. Dodson had originally given Johnson $50 for the gun but demanded $100 to return it. Johnson asked to test fire the weapon before paying and went to a nearby open field, where he fired several shots.

After returning to the tavern, Johnson became angry over Dodson’s demand for more money and decided to rob the business. According to Johnson’s statement to police, he forced Dodson and a customer, Charles Himes, into the men’s bathroom with the intention of tying them up using electrical cord. Johnson claimed that Himes attacked him, causing him to fire wildly and shoot both men.

Johnson then took money from the cash drawer and also stole Dodson’s gun from under the bar. While wiping the bar to remove fingerprints, he heard sounds coming from the bathroom. Johnson said he returned and found Himes still alive, then shot him again to “stop his suffering.” He later sold the murder weapon before leaving Florida.

Johnson was arrested several weeks later in Oregon on an unrelated matter. Authorities found him with Dodson’s gun, and he was linked to the Florida murders through a warrant listed in the National Crime Information Center.

On May 23, 1980, Johnson was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder. On September 26, 1980, he was convicted of first-degree murder for the death of James Dodson and second-degree murder for the death of Charles Himes. The jury recommended death by majority vote on September 29, 1980. On October 3, 1980, Johnson was sentenced to death for Dodson’s murder and life imprisonment for Himes’s murder.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Johnson’s conviction and death sentence in 1983, and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari in 1984. Johnson later filed several post-conviction motions and habeas petitions, raising issues involving trial counsel, jury instructions, mental health expert assistance, public records, and Ring claims. These challenges were repeatedly denied or rejected by state and federal courts.

Johnson remained under a sentence of death in Florida. A 2011 Eleventh Circuit opinion described him as having been on death row for nearly half his life.