Johnson v. State

Weltner, Justice.

Gwendolyn Johnson was indicted for the murder of Albert Martin by shooting and killing him with a handgun. A jury found her guilty but mentally ill, and she was sentenced to life imprisonment.

1. After Martin, a longtime friend, made disparaging remarks about Johnson’s son (who was in jail), Johnson purchased a revolver, went to Martin’s house with it, and, while they were sitting on the edge of his bed, shot him several times after he criticized her son in the course of conversation. Johnson then put the revolver in a purse and left it at a neighbor’s apartment.

That evening,…