Albany convicted killer gets clemency hearing

ALBANY — Condemned killer Marcus Ray Johnson will receive a clemency hearing with the State Board of Pardons and Paroles on Nov. 18, one day before his scheduled execution by lethal injection.

According to a media release from the Georgia parole board, Johnson’s representatives have been invited to attend the 9 a.m. meeting to argue his case. Johnson was convicted in 1998 of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, rape and aggravated battery in the 1994 death of Angela Sizemore in Albany. Johnson was sentenced to death for the crime.

The Parole Board has sole constitutional authority to commute or reduce a death sentence to life with the possibility of parole or to life without the possibility of parole.

The Board conducted a previous clemency meeting for Johnson in Oct. 2011, the release states. However, action was suspended prior to reaching a decision after the defendant was issued a stay by the Dougherty County Superior Court.

Johnson is scheduled to be executed on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.