Latavious D. Johnson was an Arkansas death row inmate who killed twice: he fatally shot his father in 2000 at age eighteen, and in 2012 he stabbed a correctional officer to death inside the prison where he was serving a life sentence for the first killing. A jury sentenced him to death for the officer’s murder. He died at the Varner SuperMax prison on June 6, 2025, at age 43. The Arkansas Department of Corrections confirmed his death but did not release a cause.1THV11. Arkansas Death Row Inmate Latavious Johnson Dead at 43
The Killing of Corporal Barbara Ester
On January 20, 2012, Corporal Barbara Ann Ester, a property officer and twelve-year veteran of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, confronted Johnson at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys about a pair of contraband sneakers. Johnson denied the shoes were contraband. When Ester returned with Lieutenant Steven Lane to confiscate them, Johnson stabbed her three times with a six-inch metal shank he had fashioned from a piece of an air conditioning unit.2CNN. Arkansas Prison Guard Killed The shank punctured her heart.3Seattle Times. Arkansas Death Row Inmate Dies in Prison of Unknown Causes Ester, 47, was flown to a hospital in Memphis and died that afternoon.4Officer Down Memorial Page. Corporal Barbara Ann Ester
Speaking to investigators afterward, Johnson said: “I should have just gave the shoes up, just said to hell with it, asked someone to send me some money and order me some more. It’s too late for all that now.”3Seattle Times. Arkansas Death Row Inmate Dies in Prison of Unknown Causes A corrections spokesperson said Johnson had a record of disciplinary violations, including a failure to obey orders earlier that same week, but had never before attacked a guard.5Police1. Female Ark. Corrections Officer Killed
The 2000 Murder of His Father and Earlier Life
Johnson’s mother died of AIDS in 1996, when he was a teenager. He moved in with his father, Johnnie Johnson, whom court documents later described as a heavy drinker and drug user who brought prostitutes into the home and was physically abusive toward his son.1THV11. Arkansas Death Row Inmate Latavious Johnson Dead at 43 From 1997 to May 1999, Johnson lived in a residential facility for troubled youth. When it lost funding, he returned to his father’s home and stopped receiving mental health treatment.
In 2000, at eighteen, Johnson fatally shot his father during an altercation.6FindLaw. Johnson v. State He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received a life sentence. He was serving that sentence when he killed Corporal Ester twelve years later.
Capital Trial and Death Sentence
The State charged Johnson with capital murder for Ester’s death. His trial took place in Lee County Circuit Court, with attorneys Jeff Rosenzweig and Joe Perry representing him. Johnson testified, admitting the three stab wounds but denying he intended to kill her.6FindLaw. Johnson v. State The jury convicted him and returned a death sentence. The Officer Down Memorial Page records the conviction as entered on November 7, 2014.4Officer Down Memorial Page. Corporal Barbara Ann Ester
At sentencing, the prosecution called Ester’s daughter, Fanie Duke Nichols, to give victim-impact testimony. The defense called a single mitigation witness, Johnson’s older half-sister Keisha Rhinehart, who testified about the siblings’ childhood. Rosenzweig later said the defense saw Rhinehart as the most credible witness available and wanted to avoid opening the door to damaging material from Johnson’s prison record.6FindLaw. Johnson v. State
Appeals
The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed Johnson’s conviction and death sentence in 2016.6FindLaw. Johnson v. State In April 2017, he petitioned for post-conviction relief under Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 37.5, arguing his trial attorneys should have presented the much larger body of mitigation evidence developed for his first murder case. That earlier file, assembled by attorney Mac Carder, contained interviews with 31 teachers, social workers, probation officers, family members, psychiatrists, and psychologists about what Johnson called his “chaotic and turbulent life.”
At an evidentiary hearing on February 27, 2018, Rosenzweig testified that two experts he retained, psychiatrist Dr. George Woods and neuropsychologist Dr. Stacy Wood, concluded Johnson did not have a diagnosable mental health condition, and that introducing the older records risked letting prosecutors bring in Johnson’s prison disciplinary history.7vLex. Johnson v. State The Lee County Circuit Court denied the petition on July 22, 2019, treating the choices as trial strategy. On April 30, 2020, the Arkansas Supreme Court unanimously affirmed under Chief Justice John Dan Kemp.8Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Prisoner’s Sentence of Death Upheld
Death at Varner SuperMax
Johnson was pronounced dead at approximately 3:30 p.m. on June 6, 2025, at the Varner SuperMax in Gould, Arkansas. He was 43. The Arkansas Department of Corrections confirmed the death but did not release a cause and did not immediately respond to press inquiries.9KATV. Death Row Inmate Latavious Johnson Dies at Varner Supermax The department’s media advisory for his death did not reference an Arkansas State Police investigation or an internal review, unlike other recent inmate death notices.10Arkansas Department of Corrections. Media Advisories Arkansas has not carried out an execution since 2017, so Johnson’s death sentence was never performed.
Barbara Ester’s Legacy
Ester was survived by her husband, also an officer at the East Arkansas Regional Unit, and one child.4Officer Down Memorial Page. Corporal Barbara Ann Ester11Arkansas Department of Corrections. Barbara Ester Unit12Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Family, Prison Officials Dedicate New Ester Unit Staff at the East Arkansas Regional Unit observed the tenth anniversary of her death on January 20, 2022, and she was later honored at the department’s inaugural Fallen Officer Memorial Service at the Cummins Unit.13Arkansas Department of Corrections. Prison History and Events