Admittedly against the better advice of her attorneys, Elizabeth Johnson, the mother of a Tempe baby who's been missing for over a year, wrote a handwritten, two-page letter to the judge handling her kidnapping case apparently just to ramble about how unfair the justice system is, how much she hates her mugshot, and how she's being "fried" in the media.
Johnson's been charged with kidnapping in the disappearance of her then-1-year-old son, Gabriel, who was last seen when Johnson claims to have given the baby to an unidentified couple she met at a park in San Antonio, Texas, in December of 2009. That was only after she told the baby's father that she'd killed the boy and put him in a dumpster.
In a letter she wrote to Judge Paul McMurdie, Johnson doesn't do a whole lot to help her case.
"I'm against conformity and was never one who followed the rules,"
Johnson writes, "which is probably why I'm in the situation I find
myself."
Last year, after assaulting an inmate while in custody at one of
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jails, Johnson's crusade "against
conformity" got her on one of the sheriff's (ahem) special meal plans.
Read about Johnson and "Joe's loaf" by clicking here.
Johnson goes on to introduce herself to McMurdie, saying "you don't know
me and I don't know you. I've seen you a few times at court, and even
once you looked at me!"
Then, in a bold move for someone who faces some lengthy prison time if
convicted, Johnson tells McMurdie she could probably do a little better
as far as judges go.
"I hear you are a somewhat 'fair' judge -- not the best, nor the
worst...I worry I will not only not receive a fair trial or jury, but
also a fair judge," she writes in the note.
Johnson continues by saying how being "on the other side" of the law
gives her a new perspective on those accused of crimes, and how she
plans to further go against the advice of her attorneys.
"Interviews -- to tell my side - defend myself -- which again, my
lawyers will not allow but I'll probably do it anyway because I'm
stubborn and believe in myself and my case. I am unconventional and will
not change for the world," she writes.
Johnson's trial is scheduled to begin on May 9. KPHO has a copy of
Johnson's letter to the judge posted on its website, which you can see
by clicking here.