Corey Johnson (murderer)

Corey Johnson
Johnson in federal custody in 1992
Born(1968-11-05)November 5, 1968
DiedJanuary 14, 2021(2021-01-14) (aged 52)
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection
Criminal statusExecuted
ConvictionsMurder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise (21 U.S.C. § 848) (7 counts)
Murder in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. § 1962) (7 counts)
Crimes of violence in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. § 1962) (4 counts)
Use of a firearm during a crime of violence (7 counts)
Possession cocaine base with intent to distribute (21 U.S.C. §§ 848) (2 counts)
Conspiracy to possess cocaine base with the intent to distribute (21 U.S.C. § 846)
Criminal penaltyDeath (February 16, 1993)
AccomplicesVernon Lance Thomas
Richard Tipton
James H. Roane Jr.
Details
Victims7
DateJanuary – February 1992
LocationsRichmond, Virginia
Imprisoned atUnited States Penitentiary, Terre Haute

Corey Johnson (November 5, 1968 – January 14, 2021) was an American convicted killer and co-founder of a Virginia drug trafficking gang who murdered seven people in 1992, with the purpose of increasing the gang's drug trade monopoly in Richmond, Virginia. Johnson and two members of his gang were found guilty under a federal law that targets large-scale drug traffickers, and Johnson was sentenced to death for each of the seven counts of murder he was tried for.

Johnson remained on death row for 28 years before he was put to death by lethal injection on January 14, 2021, as the second-last person on federal death row to be executed before the 2021 moratorium on federal death sentences. The other members of Johnson's gang were also found guilty and received varying prison sentences, including the death penalty (later commuted to life), life without the possibility of parole, and shorter sentences for those who were not involved in the murders.