Hazard Murderer Still on Death Row Waiting Execution Due to Injunction

On November 29, 1989, at the Bright and Clean Laundry in Hazard, Helen Madden, was found murdered. She had been employed there for over 13 years.

Earlier that evening, Donald Herb Johnson went to Bright and Clean Laundry in Hazard and asked Madden if he could use the telephone. Madden refused to let him use the telephone. Then, Johnson allegedly proceeded to stab her at least 24 times, repeatedly bit her, beat her beyond recognition, disemboweled her, and mutilated her vagina and rectum with a ball point pen. Madden was so disfigured that her co-worker of 13 years could not identify her.

After the attack, Johnson allegedly went to a restaurant to have dinner nearby.

Johnson was arrested on December 1, 1989 and charged with murder, robbery and burglary. The charge of 1st Degree Sexual Assault was added later. He plead guilty on June 17, 1994.

Johnson was, then, sentenced to death by Judge John David Caudill on October 1, 1997 after the case was transferred to Floyd Circuit Court where Johnson pleaded guilty to capital murder, first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of pleading guilty.

After Johnson's sentencing, according to court records, he filed a motion alleging that the lead member of his trial team, Mike Williams, threatened to withdraw from the representation and thus bullied him into entering the guilty plea. He also claimed that he “reluctantly agreed to plea, but only because the [trial judge] had convinced him, and his attorneys, that the judge would give him LWOP 25. (Life Without Parole 25 years)” The motion included numerous allegations about a “secret deal,” including that the trial judge had ex parte contact with the defense and Johnson, that at one point the judge had asked whether Johnson would accept a sentence of LWOP 25 (to which he said yes), and that the defense team believed there was a “firm commitment” to such a sentence if Johnson entered a guilty plea. The motion also alleged that the lawyers tried to get the trial judge to put his commitment on the record but that he refused because he “would be a fool to do such a thing, and that they would just have to trust him.”

Once the motion was filed, it went before the Kentucky State Supreme court where Johnson, of course, testified that he believed some sort of deal had been reached. He stated that at one point, while only his lawyers and a bailiff were present with him, the judge approached him and asked whether he would take LWOP 25, to which he said "yes". He also testified that his lawyers later unsuccessfully tried to get the judge to go on the record concerning this “plea offer.” He also testified that he was later told by his lawyers that the judge and prosecutors had agreed that if he was to be sentenced to death, he could withdraw his guilty plea. 

On cross-examination, he admitted that he did not tell his appellate lawyers about the alleged deal. He claimed this was because he heard voices that told him not to tell his lawyers (Johnson is a diagnosed schizophrenic), but he did reveal this to counsel when he was finally medicated, after the conclusion of his direct appeal.

Judge Caudill also testified that there was no “deal” and that he had no memory of asking Johnson if he would take LWOP 25. He admitted that he may have inquired about the possibility of settlement, and that Williams may have said to him at some point that Johnson was interested in such a deal and that he (the judge) might have then asked “Would you take it if the Commonwealth offered it to you?” Court staff corroborated Williams's and the judge's version of events to the extent that they could recall no conversations between the judge and Johnson, despite also testifying to always being present during court proceedings.

After hearing all the testimony, Judge Coleman entered findings of fact and conclusions of law resolving the remaining portions of Johnson's RCr 11.42 motion. As to the question of judicial interference in the plea process, the special judge concluded that Johnson “was not promised a life sentence in exchange for a guilty plea by the trial judge or anyone else” and that “[t]here is simply no credible evidence to find otherwise.” As to whether Johnson's lawyer coerced him by threatening to withdraw, the judge concluded “that trial counsel did not threaten to withdraw if the defendant refused to plead guilty.” In reaching these conclusions, the judge went through the testimony of various witnesses and explained why he did or did not believe them.

Judge Coleman found that Judge Caudill had not impermissibly injected himself into the case. Specifically, he found that no “secret deal” had been reached and that no credible evidence would suggest otherwise. In making this finding, he discussed the proof, including the competing versions of what happened, and specifically found that the testimony of the original trial judge and Johnson's lead counsel were convincing. He also found that Johnson's counsel had not threatened him. The judge's decision turned on these factual findings.

Johnson disputes these findings, arguing that the evidence shows otherwise. Thus, the legal issue in this case is whether the trial court's factual findings are in error.

Ultimately, the proof in this case was more consistent with the idea that at most, Judge Caudill had inquired about the possibility of a deal being reached in the case. Possibly, such an inquiry was driven by the funding concerns that ran throughout the case in the early 1990s, when the county would have been responsible for much of the defense's costs. But it requires a substantial leap to believe that such an inquiry was in fact a promise to give a certain sentence upon an unconditional, blind plea. While the judge likely tried to nudge the case toward a plea agreement, the proof simply does not show that he interfered with the process in the manner condemned in Haight and Corey.

Moreover, the proof supports a finding that Johnson's lawyer did not threaten or otherwise coerce him into pleading guilty.

Judge Coleman's findings after this Court's remand reflect this proof. Those findings are supported by substantial evidence and therefore are not clearly erroneous. For that reason, this Court affirms and the death penalty for Donald Herb Johnson remains.

Records also show that Johnson was charged on April 8, 1996 and convicted on October 8, 1998 for Escape-@nd Degree-Identity Facility.

In January 21, 2004, Attorney General Greg Stumbo asked for an execution date to be set for Donald Johnson. Stumbo requested that Govenor Ernie Fletcher set the dates as soon as possible in order to carry out the sentence imposed in each case.

Governor Ernie Fletcher signed a death warrant that sets March 15, 2004 as the execution date for Donald Herb Johnson. Under Kentucky law, upon the filing of Mr. Johnson’s motion for post-conviction relief, he will be entitled to seek a stay of execution. Counsel for Mr. Johnson has indicated that they plan to seek post-conviction relief under Kentucky law at the end of February of 2004.

In July 2014, Johnson had a petition filed in federal court in Lexington, again saying Judge Caudill in Floyd County didn't recount all the rights he'd be giving up by admitting to stabbing Helen Madden to death on Oct. 30, 1989. Johnson, also,  claims he may not have been competent at the time to enter the plea.

In 2015, Donald Johnson, had left hip replacement surgery after he broke his left hip while leaving a medical check-up at the prison infirmary. His surgery was done at Baptist Health Paducah where 3 guards stood watch while in the hospital, according to court records.

In December of 2024, Kentucky State Attorney Russell Coleman filed a motion asking to dissolve the injunction and allow executions to proceed due to a moratourium on executions in Kentucky due to a court order that was set 2009.

The Kentucky Supreme Court  unanimously rejected Coleman's request to end the injunction in October 2024.

Kentucky has executed three people since 1976, when the U.S.  Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty; Kentucky has had no executions since 2008.

For now, Johnson, 57,  sits in prison in Kentucky where he has been since his conviction in 1994. Maybe the waiting game on laws and injunctions will give Johnson what he wanted all along....LWOP.