HONOLULU (KHON2) — Experts say considering the circumstances, military prosecutors did the best they could in the Mischa Johnson murder case.
Even though her husband admitted to killing her and their unborn child, there is a chance he could even get out of prison early.
Despite the heinous details in the killing of Mischa Johnson, experts say military prosecutors got all the prison time they could for Dewayne Johnson.
“The sentence of 23 years is actually pretty high for the charges he was facing,” said Alexander Silvert, retired federal public defender.
Johnson faced a murder charge, but plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and obstruction of justice. Experts say there are two critical components to proving murder, intent and evidence.
“I know in this particular case, there’s no body,” said retired Col. Mark Bridges, former military judge/JAG corps. “They’re probably, to my knowledge, there were no other witnesses about what occurred. And so the government’s in a bit of a quandary there.”
“Evidence is key,” said Silvert. “What can you prove? And so the government here took the evidence they had, made the best deal they had.”
So even though Johnson admitted he dismembered Mischa’s body and threw it in a dumpster, and even though prosecutors showed he contacted 18 women on a dating app days after the killing, experts say that is irrelevant in regards to intent.
“All of that indicates he’s certainly not a good person, not a nice person, but all that doesn’t indicate that he killed his wife,” said Silvert. “It would indicate to a jury, I think, if it argued correctly, simply that the marriage was dissolving. It was a bad marriage. He knew they were going to separate. So he was making other arrangements and moving on with his life.”
Johnson could also be out earlier. Experts add that in some cases, the accused is released early for “good time,” usually shaving up to a third off their sentence. They could also be eligible for parole.
“Parole is never a definite thing,” said Bridges. “So they’ll look at the facts and circumstances of what happened in this case. And the parole authority will have to decide whether parole is appropriate. So it’s never an automatic thing.”
A guilty verdict is also not guaranteed. So experts say coming to a plea agreement might not please all, but is important for closure and a sense of peace for the victim’s family.
“The family at this moment, not all of them may feel that way, but I think over time, it will prove out that psychologically, it was really good to find out what happened,” said Silvert.