Richard Z.Johnson was born in Monroe, La. and currently resides in Baton Rouge, La. with his wife of 37 years, Fredrena. He is the father of two daughters, Jessica, who has a law degree and Mighan, who has a masters degree in mass communications. He has a juris doctorate degree with honors from the Southern Law Center in Baton Rouge, La.
Johnson served over 26 years as an assistant district and elected District Attorney. For six years, he was the only elected African-American district attorney in the state of Louisiana. He was also the first African-American city attorney for Mansfield, La. and is an Army veteran.