Missouri execution date set for Ernest Johnson June 29, 2021 GMT JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday set an October execution date for Ernest Lee Johnson, who was convicted of killing three people at a central Missouri convenience store 27 years ago. The order set the execution for 6 p.m. Oct. 5 at the state prison in Bonne Terre. It would be the state’s first execution since convicted killer Walter Barton was put to death in May 2020. Johnson, 60, had asked that his execution be carried out by firing squad, but the U.S. Supreme Court last month refused to consider his appeal. The court left in place a lower court ruling that could allow him to be executed by injection. Missouri law does not authorize execution by firing squad.