"Unfortunately, we didn't have it at the time," Carroll said, adding that his office has had to defend Johnston's prosecution for more than two decades.
"Twenty-two years after his sentencing, he still had appeals pending, attacking the validity of his convictions," Carroll said. "I'm pleased that we no longer have to devote resources to that. It's entirely appropriate that he died in prison."
West Chester attorney Samuel C. Stretton, who represented Johnston on several occasions, said he was sorry to hear of his death.
"His recent treatment in prison was very inhumane," Stretton said. "He spent years in the general population without a problem, but after his brother's [Norman] escape, he was unfairly put in solitary confinement."
Stretton called Johnston "one of Chester County's most brazen" outlaws and said his story should dissuade others who "might want to glorify" their lives through crime.
"He and his brothers have been in prison since 1978," Stretton said. "That should be a strong deterrent."
In the 1970s, the Johnston brothers, Bruce Sr., David and Norman, operated a multimillion-dollar burglary ring that stole everything from cigarettes to tractors for almost a decade.
In 1980, they were convicted in the 1978 murders of three junior members of their ring and Bruce Johnston Jr.'s 15-year-old girlfriend. Johnston Jr. was also a target, but he survived eight gunshot wounds.
The slayings formed the basis for the 1986 movie At Close Range, starring Christopher Walken as Bruce Johnston Sr. and Sean Penn as Bruce Johnston Jr.
The victims were killed to keep them from cooperating with authorities, police said. Bruce Johnston Jr. had begun divulging information about the gang because he believed his father had raped his girlfriend, police said.
