On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the state of Texas carried out the execution of Matthew Lee Johnson, a 49-year-old man convicted of the brutal 2012 murder of 76-year-old Nancy Harris, a longtime store clerk in Garland. The execution was administered via lethal injection at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, precisely 13 years to the day since the crime was committed.
In May 2012, Johnson attempted to rob the Valero convenience store where Harris worked. During the robbery, he doused Harris in lighter fluid and set her on fire. Despite suffering burns over most of her body, Harris managed to give police a clear statement identifying Johnson before she succumbed to her injuries five days later. Her final words were instrumental in Johnson’s arrest and conviction.
Johnson had a long history of criminal activity and drug abuse. During his trial in 2013, he admitted to being under the influence of crack cocaine at the time of the attack. He described himself as “the lowest scum of the earth,” expressing deep remorse. His defense attorneys highlighted his struggles with addiction and the trauma of childhood sexual abuse, but these arguments failed to persuade the courts to commute his sentence.
As he lay on the gurney, Johnson used his final words to apologize to Harris’s family and express a desire for redemption, stating, “I never meant to hurt her. I hope she forgives me.”
The execution, witnessed by members of Harris’s family, was Texas’s sixth this year and the 18th in the U.S. overall in 2025. The case continues to stir debate around the death penalty, mental health, addiction, and justice in America’s criminal system.
