A Texas man was executed Tuesday evening for the horrific murder of an elderly store clerk whom he set on fire during a convenience store robbery more than a decade ago.
Matthew Lee Johnson, 49, received a lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville for the 2012 killing of 76-year-old Nancy Harris, a great-grandmother who was doused with lighter fluid and burned at a store in Garland, Texas.
Johnson’s execution was one of two scheduled in the U.S. that day. In Indiana, Benjamin Ritchie was also slated for execution by lethal injection for the 2000 killing of a police officer. These executions were part of a string of four carried out over roughly a week: Glen Rogers was executed in Florida on May 15, and Oscar Smith is scheduled for execution in Tennessee on Thursday.
David Dow, Johnson’s attorney, announced he would not file any last-minute appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court to try to delay the execution. Previous requests for delays had already been denied by lower courts. Last Friday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles also rejected Johnson’s request for clemency.
In earlier appeals, Johnson’s legal team argued that his death sentence was unconstitutional, citing flawed assessments of whether he posed a future danger to society — a key requirement under Texas law for imposing a death sentence. His most recent appeals also questioned the legality of how his execution date was set.
Security cameras captured part of Johnson’s attack on Harris. Despite being severely burned, Harris managed to give police a description of her attacker before dying several days later on May 20, 2012 — exactly 13 years before Johnson’s execution.
Johnson’s guilt was never in question. During his 2013 trial, he admitted to setting Harris on fire and expressed deep remorse, calling himself “the lowest scum of the earth.” He explained that he was under the influence of crack cocaine, having smoked $100 worth of the drug, and was not fully aware of his actions at the time. His defense attorneys highlighted his long struggle with substance abuse and traumatic childhood, including sexual abuse.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office argued in court filings that Johnson’s repeated appeals were merely attempts to delay the execution of a lawful sentence. “Thirteen years after Johnson committed his crime, justice should no longer be postponed,” the office stated.
Nancy Harris had worked at the convenience store for more than ten years and lived just a short distance from her workplace, according to her son, Scot Harris. She was a mother to four sons, a grandmother to 11 grandchildren, and a great-grandmother to seven.
Prosecutors said Harris had only just begun her Sunday morning shift when Johnson entered the store, poured lighter fluid on her, and demanded cash. After taking the money, he set her on fire and walked calmly out of the store, according to court documents.
Harris ran outside the store, engulfed in flames and calling for help, until a police officer used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. Johnson was arrested about an hour later.
Harris suffered extensive second- and third-degree burns to her head, face, neck, shoulders, arms, and legs, enduring intense pain in the days before her death, as testified by medical staff.
With Johnson’s execution, he became the fourth person executed in Texas this year. Texas remains the state with the highest number of executions in the U.S. If both executions scheduled for that Tuesday proceeded, the total number of executions nationwide for the year would rise to 18.