Johnson’s fate now in jury’s hands

Costa Mesa native Billy Joe Johnson is a cold-blooded serial killer who won’t stop until he’s dead, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ebrahim Baytieh said during closing arguments in Johnson’s trial Wednesday.

“He’s the one who kept sending himself back and back and back to prison. He’s the one who did that. His choices,” Baytieh told the jury in the conclusion to the penalty phase of the trial. “Mr. Johnson made Mr. Johnson who he is. This isn’t about vengeance. This is about justice.”

Justice, in Baytieh’s opinion, would be the jury recommending death for Johnson, who was convicted by the same 12 jurors two weeks ago for helping kill Scott Miller in 2002.

Miller and Johnson, 46, were friends in the skinhead gang Public Enemy Number One. His fellow-gang members killed him because he revealed gang secrets to the media.

Johnson’s defense attorney, Michael Molfetta, tried to take emotion out of the jurors’ minds Wednesday afternoon in his closing argument. When Baytieh splashed graphic pictures of Johnson’s bludgeoned victims on a courtroom screen, Molfetta said, he was appealing to everyone’s natural instinct for revenge.

But according to the law, he told jurors, they can’t consider revenge when deciding on Johnson’s fate. They can consider the harm of Johnson’s past crimes — he claimed on the stand Tuesday he’s killed at least five people — but not what would “stick it” to Johnson, Molfetta said.

What would likely bother Johnson most is if he is sentenced to life without parole. Johnson testified Tuesday he wants a death sentence because until he’s executed, he’ll enjoy more time out of his cell and time with inmates on death row. If he is sentenced to life without parole, he would be in his cell nearly 24 hours a day, prison guards testified.

Though Johnson wants the death penalty, Molfetta is required by law to argue for life without parole even if it’s against his client’s wishes.

Molfetta maintained Wednesday that prison is what created the man at the defendant’s table.

He pointed out Johnson didn’t have a male role model in his life since his dad left when he was 9. His peers infected him with racist thoughts and once he got into prison he was molded by the gang-culture inside.

“You can’t hold him accountable for what’s inside him and what was done to him. You can hold him accountable for what he’s done,” Molfetta told the jury. “What is it that made this guy seemingly not give a rip about anything? You don’t get there alone folks.”

He equated Johnson to one of the lead characters from “Lord of the Flies,” who when removed from society long enough, relied on base, savage instincts to survive. Johnson’s tattoo-covered body displaying swastikas and other Nazi symbolism is his war paint, Molfetta said. Johnson said on the stand he’s proud of his heritage and that’s the root of his white supremacist beliefs.

Baytieh countered that Johnson should die for his crimes.

“That’s our heritage. Compassionate but not naive. Forgiving but not stupid,” he said.

The jury began deliberating Wednesday afternoon.