Johnson Trial Jury to Continue Deliberation
The jury completed its first day of deliberation Thursday without reaching a decision on whether convicted killer Michael Raymond Johnson should receive the death penalty in the slaying of a Ventura County sheriff’s deputy.
Johnson, 50, has been convicted of murdering Peter J. Aguirre on July 17, 1996, when the deputy responded to a domestic-disturbance call at the Meiners Oaks home of Johnson’s estranged wife.
Closing arguments in the case concluded Wednesday.
Prosecutors have argued that Johnson should die for the swath of destruction Johnson caused among family, friends and fellow law enforcement officials when he gunned down the 26-year-old officer in the line of duty.
Defense attorneys have acknowledged what the Vietnam veteran did is wrong, but they argued Johnson has suffered from paranoid delusions and paranoid schizophrenia for years, and thus does not deserve to die.
The jury will resume deliberating today.
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