Precious Doe defendant gets new lawyer, irritates judge

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A judge has agreed to remove one of the lawyers from the death penalty defense team representing the man accused of killing the girl once known only as Precious Doe.

Harrell Johnson, 27, of Muskogee, Okla., is charged with first-degree murder in the 2001 death of his stepdaughter, 3-year-old Erica Green. He is accused of knocking her unconscious and leaving her untreated for many hours until she died inside a Kansas City home. Police found Erica's decapitated body in a wooded area in April 2001, but authorities were unable to identify her for four years.

During Thursday's hearing, Harrell Johnson repeatedly asked Jackson County Circuit Judge J.D. Williamson for new lawyers. He also asked to represent himself.

One of his lawyers, Janice Zembles, said most of Johnson's problems seemed to be with her. "Mr. Johnson is not going to be able to render assistance to me, nor I to him," she said.

Williamson agreed to allow Zembles to withdraw.

Johnson also argued that he was unhappy with what both his lawyers were telling him: "There's no chance of winning, (so) plea out. That's what they're telling me. Cop out, plea, plea."

There is no record that prosecutors have offered any plea agreement, but they sometimes do take the death penalty off the table in exchange for a guilty plea and a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Johnson also asked for attorneys other than public defenders. When the judge told Johnson that was not possible, Johnson said, "I'm not going to sit up here and let racist people take my life."

Eventually, Williamson told Johnson to stop. "If you don't, I'm going to have you removed," he said.

A jury is scheduled to be chosen in St. Louis County in August and brought to Kansas City for Johnson's trial.

Erica's mother, Michelle Johnson, is charged with second-degree murder and child endangerment for not getting medical help for her dying daughter. She married Johnson a year after Erica died.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com