STILLWATER, Minn. — An inmate charged with killing an on-duty corrections officer has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Court documents show Edward Muhammad Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of first degree murder in the death of Officer Joseph Gomm at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater on July 18, 2018.
Following the guilty plea, Johnson was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The Washington County Attorney's Office said additional counts of premeditated murder and second-degree assault were dismissed as a result of the guilty plea.
"Nothing the criminal justice system can do would bring back Correctional Officer Joseph Gomm," said Assistant Washington County Attorney Nicholas Hydukovich, in a statement. "Mr. Gomm was a kindhearted, beloved man whose life was needlessly cut short. The Washington County Attorney’s Office continues to express its condolences to the Gomm family, as well as Mr. Gomm’s friends and colleagues at the Department of Corrections. We are pleased that Mr. Johnson has pleaded guilty and will remain in prison for the rest of his life."
“The family’s happy for closure, certainly," Gomm family attorney Mike Padden told KARE 11. "To get it done in just a few minutes with the plea and the life sentence is pretty much a godsend for them.”
At the time of Gomm's killing, Johnson was serving a 29-year sentence for killing his girlfriend in 2002. Prosecutors say Johnson used a prison-issued hammer and an improvised knife to attack Gomm.
