CONDEMNED man loses appeal

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution Friday for an Oklahoma inmate scheduled to be put to death next week. <br><br>The high court, in a two-sentence ruling, also denied

Saturday, May 26th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution Friday for an Oklahoma inmate scheduled to be put to death next week.

The high court, in a two-sentence ruling, also denied a habeas corpus appeal filed by Vincent Allen Johnson.

Johnson is to be executed Tuesday for the Feb. 8, 1991, murder of Shirley Mooneyham.

Mooneyham, 44, was shot several times at her rural Pittsburg County residence, allegedly at the request of her estranged common-law husband, Ted Holt. Holt was acquitted on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Johnson went to Mooneyham's residence and smoked marijuana with her before he opened fire, Attorney General Drew Edmondson said.

Afterward, agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation intercepted a conversation between Johnson and an informant in which Johnson admitted his part in Mooneyham's death.

Johnson also said he was angry at Holt for not yet delivering the $100,000 he was owed for Mooneyham's murder, Edmondson said.