Triple Murderer One Step Closer To Execution Chamber

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A federal judge has refused to stop the execution of a man sentenced to death row for a triple murder during a Nashville robbery.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Echols heard arguments Monday in the case of 53-year-old Cecil C. Johnson Jr. who was sentenced to death in 1981. He is set to be executed by lethal injection early Wednesday.

A jury convicted Johnson in the murders of three people - including a 12-year-old boy, during a robbery at Bob Bell's Market in Nashville. He spent the past 29 years on death row.

One juror who convicted Johnson expected delays, but nothing this long. The juror, who asked not to be identified, said, "The guy shot the kid in the store. I thought it was just going to take 10 years, but 30 years is mind-boggling."

Johnson's attorneys said their client suffers from "Death Row Phenomena" and endured "psychological torture" during his nearly three decades on death row. They said misconduct by prosecutors dragged out the case for years.

Johnson's attorneys said to execute him now would amount to "cruel and unusual punishment."

Prosecutors said Johnson's appeal has little merit and he's simply trying to stay alive.

Johnson's appeal goes to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

(The Associated Press Contributed To This Story)