The Conviction Integrity Unit, established by Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner in her office, flagged the Lamar Johnson case in 2019. The case illustrates two maladies that afflict American jurisprudence.
The first malady is the “guilty until proven innocent doctrine” experienced mainly by African Americans. The second is law enforcement officers, who swore to defend and protect, but choose to violate their oath.
These maladies are at the core of the Lamar Johnson case: A young Black man in the prime of his life, framed for murder, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He spent 28 years in prison.
Joseph Nickerson, the lead St. Louis police detective on the Johnson case, allegedly lied, fabricated parts of his investigation, falsified four witness statements, coerced a false witness confession, and bribed a man with $4,000 to falsely identify Johnson as the shooter.
Dwight Warren, the assistant prosecutor assigned to the case, allegedly ignored key rules of evidence, engaged in prosecutorial misconduct, hid exculpatory information, and took the case to the jury knowing he had no evidence to justify a conviction worthy of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.
Nickerson and Warren violated their solemn oaths to serve and protect. They had no regard for the life, rights, and dignity of Lamar Johnson. To them, Johnson was guilty until proven innocent, 28 years later.
Lamar Johnson was wrongfully charged, framed, convicted, and sentenced in 1995. According to Circuit Attorney Gardner, “any prosecutor who truly believes in their oath to do justice under the Constitution will move to get Lamar Johnson a new trial.”
That exactly was what she did. Relentlessly, she pursued a new trial to throw out Johnson’s wrongful conviction.
Gardner took the fight to Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Hogan who rejected Gardner’s motion for a new trial.
Gardner petitioned the Missouri Supreme Court. Though forty-five prosecutors from across the country filed briefs in court to support Gardner’s petition for a new trial, Missouri Attorney General, Eric Schmitt, fought her every step of the way. The Supreme Court ruled against her, but she did not give up.
Gardner’s efforts to get a new trial for Johnson caught the attention of Missouri Legislators. In 2021, legislators passed a new law that would allow Missouri prosecutors to file motions to vacate or set aside a judgement in wrongful conviction cases.
With a new law in hand, Gardner filed a 59-page petition for a new trial in the 22nd Circuit Court, Judge George Mason presiding. A new week-long trial was held December 2022. Gardner led the team of lawyers from her office and the Innocence Project. Diligently, they exposed the miscarriage of justice by the officers who framed Lamar Johnson in 1995. Missouri Attorney General’s office fought hard to keep Johnson in prison.
On February 14, 2023, Judge Mason, overturned the 1995 conviction after careful review of the mountain of evidence of Johnson’s innocence.
A St. Louis Justice Coalition – a broad group of civic, clergy, labor and community organizations played a supportive role to secure Johnson’s freedom. Coalition members include Jamala Rogers (OBS), Rev. Dr. Linden Bowie, Rev. Spencer Booker, Rev. Darryl Gray, Jay Ozier (CBTU), Lew Moye, CBTU), Willie Boyd (EMI), Amir Brandy (RealStlNews), Zaki Baruti (UAPO), Attorney Jerryl Christmas, Martha West, Carol Jackson, and others. I am proud to be a member of this coalition.
Yes. Lamar Johnson is a free man today. Let’s extend grace and gratitude to St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner for her relentless and fearless pursuit of justice and her criminal justice reform agenda.