Exactly 13 years after burning 76-year-old great-grandmother and convenience store clerk, Nancy Judith Harris, alive, 49-year-old Matthew Lee Johnson was executed via lethal injection. In his final words, bizarrely, Johnson told his victim’s family he wished Harris to be the first person he sees in death.
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On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, Johnson died after receiving the lethal injection at 6:53 p.m., according to USA Today. Before giving the warden the all clear, Johnson delivered a somewhat bizarre statement directed at Harris’s family.
“As I look at each one of you, I can see her on that day,” Johnson said. “I please ask for your forgiveness, I never meant to hurt her.”
“I pray that she’s the first person I see when I open my eyes and I spend eternity with,” he added.
Then, Johnson thanked his fellow death row inmates, referring to them as “brothers.” He would also thank the prison officials, saying that they treated him fairly like a man.
Next, Johnson apologized to his wife and three daughters for “giving up,” as per the outlet.
“Just know that it’s nothing that y’all did,” Johnson said. “I made wrong choices, I’ve made wrong decisions, and now I pay the consequences.”
Finally, Johnson addressed God, thanking him for the past 13 years.
“He has given me the opportunity to ask for his forgiveness, and I thank him for his redemption,” Johnson said. “Welcome me, Father, thank each and every one of you for being here. I’m done, Warden.”
Burned To Death
According to The Mirror, Matthew Lee Johnson, while high on crack, arrived at a convenience store in Garland, Dallas, on May 20, 2012, and encountered Nancy Judith Harris. The great-grandmother had worked at the location for more than 10 years.
Johnson poured lighter fluid on Harris and demanded the register’s money. Harris, doused in flammable liquid, complied. She opened the register and allowed Johnson to take the money. However, at that moment, Johnson set her on fire while he walked nonchalantly out of the store, not before taking some candy with him.
While slowly burning to death, Harris attempted to extinguish the fire that engulfed her by using a nearby sink. Unable to do so, she screamed for help. Eventually, a police officer managed to put out the fire by using a fire extinguisher.
Five days after the incident, on May 25, 2012, Harris was taken off life support, dying at the age of 64. In November 2013, Matthew Lee Johnson was convicted of capital murder.