Ray A. Johnson Missouri Cases

Ray A. Johnson appealed his convictions for first-degree murder and armed criminal action, arguing the State made an improper acquittal-first argument during closing statements. The appellate court agreed that the State's argument was an improper misstatement of the law. However, the court affirmed the convictions, finding that the trial court did not plainly err by failing to intervene sua sponte, as the error was not outcome-determinative given Johnson's defense strategy and the strong evidence of deliberation. The court also clarified that claims of prosecutorial misconduct on direct appeal must be framed as trial court error.