- A federal judge ruled Khorry Ramey, 19, cannot watch her father's execution because she is too young.
- Kevin Johnson was sentenced to death in 2015 for killing a police officer.
A federal judge ruled on Friday that a 19-year-old woman cannot watch her father's execution because she is too young.
Kevin Johnson was sentenced to death in 2015 for killing a police officer when he was also 19 years old.
His daughter Khorry Ramey, however, will be restricted from watching her father's execution after US District Judge Brian Wimes said in a ruling on Friday that a state law that bars individuals under 21 from viewing executions is constitutional.
The ACLU has filed a lawsuit on Ramey's behalf to challenge the constitutionality of the law.
Wimes said in a wrote in his ruling that Ramey failed to show that the law was unconstitutional and that it is "in the public's interest to allow states to enforce their laws and administer state prisons without court intervention," court documents show.
An attorney for Johnson said that the judge's decision not to let Ramey see her father's execution was "ironic" because Johnson was the same age at the time of the crime.
"It's ironic that Kevin was 19 years old when he committed this crime and they still want to move forward with this execution, but they won't allow his daughter who's 19 at this time in because she's too young," Johnsons' lawyer Shawn Nolan, told reporters according to NBC.
Johnson, now 37, was convicted of killing William McCentee in 2005. McCentee was a 43-year-old police officer for the Kirkwood Police Department in Missouri. Johnson was accused of shooting McCentee in his car while he was responding to a call of fireworks being set off inside an apartment building, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
Ramey said in a statement that she is "heartbroken" that she won't be able to witness her father's execution, according to NBC.
"I'm heartbroken that I won't be able to be with my dad in his last moments," Ramey said in the statement,
Ramey also said that her father "has worked very hard to rehabilitate himself in prison" and that she hoped Missouri Gov. Mike Parson will grant him clemency.
Ramey said in the statement that she thinks witnessing the execution would help her begin her grieving process.
"I am my dad's closest living relative and he is mine, other than my baby son," Ramey said in the statement. "If my dad were dying in the hospital, I would stick by his side and hold his hand, praying until his death."