The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday declined to reconsider its decision last year to deny DNA retesting for Stacey Johnson, a convicted killer living on death row at the Varner Unit.
Johnson, who was condemned to death for the 1993 murder of Carol Heath in De Queen, was spared from his pending execution in 2017 while mounting an appeal to have evidence from two crime scenes retested for DNA.
After hearing the appeal, the Arkansas justices issued a 5-2 decision in December ruling that further DNA testing was unnecessary, and that sufficient evidence already proved Johnson's guilt.
Johnson filed a petition for rehearing, which was denied Thursday by the same 5-2 split.
Justice Shawn Womack, in a brief opinion for the majority, said that Johnson had failed to raise new arguments as to why the court should revisit its decision. Womack was joined in the majority by Chief Justice Dan Kemp and justices Karen Baker, Courtney Hudson and Rhonda Wood.
Justices Robin Wynne and Josephine "Jo" Hart dissented.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.