Defense lawyer says state waited too long to seek death

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ A defense attorney says prosecutors waited too long to seek the death penalty for a man accused of beheading a child in Kansas City. <br/><br/>Jackson County Prosecutor Mike Sanders

Thursday, December 15th 2005, 10:15 am

By: News On 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ A defense attorney says prosecutors waited too long to seek the death penalty for a man accused of beheading a child in Kansas City.

Jackson County Prosecutor Mike Sanders announced December 3rd that he would seek death for Harrell Johnson in the 2001 death of his three-year-old stepdaughter, Erica Green. The child's headless body was found in a Kansas City park. She was known only as ``Precious Doe'' until earlier this year.

Johnson and his wife, Michelle Johnson -- the girl's mother -- were arrested May 5th in Oklahoma after Kansas City police followed up on a tip linking them to the death.

Defense attorney Bill Raymond said Sanders acted too late in making the allegations that aggravating circumstances qualified Johnson for the death penalty.