A New Orleans jury convicted Kelvin Atkins of second-degree murder, and a judge ordered him to spend the rest of his life in prison — because 19 shots left no doubt about the deadly intent.
Story Snapshot
- Jury convicted Atkins of second-degree murder after a weeklong retrial.
- Victim named her ex, known as “K,” before dying at the hospital, prosecutors said.
- Prosecutors said a.40-caliber Glock with a drum magazine fired 19 rounds.
- Judge imposed mandatory life without parole under Louisiana law.
Verdict after retrial closed a violent chapter
Jurors deliberated a little over an hour before finding Atkins guilty of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The verdict came at the end of a weeklong retrial in September 2026. The case concerned the July 2023 killing of 27-year-old Johnshane Powell on New Orleans Street. The earlier trial ended with a deadlock on the homicide count, even as the jury convicted on other charges. Prosecutors pressed forward and won the murder conviction on retrial.
Ad hoc Judge Calvin Johnson later imposed the only sentence the law allows for second-degree murder in Louisiana: life in prison without parole. Louisiana’s statute leaves no wiggle room for judges on this charge. Once convicted, the term is life at hard labor with no parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Johnson entered that consequence on November 6, 2026, closing the courtroom phase with the state’s most severe non-capital penalty.
Prosecutors said 19 shots told the story
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams presented a.40-caliber Glock handgun fitted with a drum magazine as the weapon used in the attack. Prosecutors said Atkins gunned Powell down with 19 shots in the 2400 block of New Orleans Street on July 3, 2023. The volume of fire and the location supported the state’s case for specific intent to kill. The firearm display underscored the brutality the jury had to weigh in the box.
Prosecutors also told jurors that Powell identified her attacker as “K,” the nickname for Atkins, while she was still alive and awaiting help. That dying identification anchored the state’s narrative with a direct tie to the defendant. Jurors heard that link alongside evidence of the couple’s troubled past and the physical story the scene told. The defense challenged the case at trial, but the jury resolved those disputes with a guilty verdict.
Escalation after a domestic-violence arrest
Police arrested Atkins two days before the killing after Powell reported that he slapped her, pulled her hair, bit her, and took a pistol from her purse. Powell asked officers a haunting question: what if he got released and she ended up dead tomorrow? The timeline that followed, ending in 19 shots, matched the worst fears in that question. The case mirrors a common pattern where prior abuse and access to a gun lead to lethal violence.
The first trial’s hung jury did not erase the significance of that warning or the risks flagged by officers. It did show why the criminal process demands careful proof and patient work with witnesses and evidence. Prosecutors returned with a tighter chain. Jurors then reached a unanimous decision on the most serious count. That path reflects a system that, when it stays on task, can deliver a clear result grounded in the record.
Mandatory life and the message it sends
Louisiana’s second-degree murder law carries a single punishment: life in prison without parole. The legislature chose to treat both intentional killings and certain felony killings at the same level of severity. Judges have no discretion to soften the outcome once a jury convicts on this charge. That framework aims to deliver certainty and deterrence when a life is taken with intent or during a listed felony.
𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐎 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐆𝐀𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐋 𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐈𝐀, 𝟑𝟒, 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐌, 𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐌, 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐌—𝐇𝐄 𝐊∗𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐌
Lakewood Police Agent Nicholas Allen Graham, 33, a 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧, was… pic.twitter.com/xT4xXfPV95
— M.A. Rothman (@MichaelARothman) November 8, 2026
This case also raises a policy edge that many readers will recognize. When a known abuser gets out and a victim fears the worst, public safety must come first. Supervision, swift action on threats, and firm enforcement save lives. Prosecutors here said fear of a stiffer habitual-offender sentence drove Atkins to silence Powell. If that motive is true, it reinforces a hard lesson: tough repeat-offender laws only work when victims can safely testify and the state backs them up.
