Memorial page for Edward Earl Johnson

1961 - 20. Mai 1987

Edward Earl Johnson was a man who made a great deal of difference by sharing his last 14 days with a TV crew (Fourteen Days in May). The TV crew accompanied him until shortly before his execution in the gas chamber on May 20, 1987...


I saw this documentary on TV in the early 1990s and was deeply affected by Edward Earl Johnson, how he was willing to share his hope, his suffering, his fears and and to set a sign against this inhuman death machinery.
At the end of the report, when the TV crew said goodbye to him just before they killed him, I burst into tears....
I couldn't stop crying....
Some impulse made me go to my recording studio, pick up a guitar and write my song "Freund (friend)". The lyrics of this song are about a friendship and the feeling to do everything to save the friend, to see him again.

This song has been with me for decades now.... and ultimately led me to my commitment against the death penalty and the founding of IHfL.

Edward Earl Johnson, you did not die in vain !

Edward Earl Johnson, thank you for opening my eyes.

Edward Earl Johnson, I will never forget you....

Peter K.


Fourteen Days in May