Eighteen words set a man free on Tuesday after he unjustly spent 28 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
“The conviction of Lamar Johnson in State v. Lamar Johnson is hereby set aside and held for naught.”
Judge David C. Mason, who heard a week of testimony in December from police, witnesses, former prosecutors, and Johnson, issued a 48-page ruling that was a scathing indictment of the process and people that sent Johnson to prison.
Greg Elking, who recanted his testimony and admitted being rewarded for his cooperation, was a major factor in Mason’s decision.
James “BA” Howard testified that Johnson did not commit the murder, saying he and convicted murderer Phillip Campbell killed Markus Boyd.
“The state has an obligation to make him as whole as it can after it robbed him of nearly three decades of his life.” – House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield
Mason wrote, “This combined testimony amounts to clear and convincing evidence that Lamar Johnson is innocent and did not commit the murder of Markus Boyd either individually or acting with another.”
“Consequently, this court finds that there is clear and convincing evidence of Lamar Johnson’s actual innocence and that there was constitutional error at the original trial that undermines confidence in the judgment.”
An overwhelmed Johnson was greeted with joy by many who awaited him.
“I want to thank, first off, people who had information about the case and came forward with the truth,” Johnson said to a crowd of reporters outside the Carnahan courthouse building. “All of the people who came out and supported me — this is overwhelming. I just thank everybody. Just thank you.”
Johnson’s case was the first taken on by Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s Conviction Integrity Unit since a state law went on the books in August 2021. It gives prosecutors the right to call for new trials for people they feel did not receive a fair trial or could be innocent based on new evidence and testimony.
“Today the courts righted a wrong – vacating the sentence of Mr. Lamar Johnson following his wrongful conviction in 1995. Most importantly, we celebrate with Mr. Johnson and his family as he walks out of the courtroom as a free man,” Gardner said in a release.
“This case was about the ability of an elected prosecutor to address a manifest injustice. This case says that in the State of Missouri, a person’s right to justice and liberty is valued more than the finality of an unjust conviction,” she stated.
On Monday, state Sen. Brian Williams filed a bill that would establish a statewide conviction review unit to the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. It would investigate a defendant’s claim of innocence, including those who plead guilty to the charges.
“A statewide conviction review unit will add another layer of protection for those entangled in the criminal justice system and give Missourians a chance to have their day in court,” said Sen. Williams.
“The case of Kevin Strickland, an innocent man who served 43 years in prison for a wrongful conviction, and the decision on Lamar Johnson’s conviction have convinced me that this policy is essential and a conviction review unit is necessary for justice to be rightfully served.”
Strickland was freed from prison at age 62 in November after spending more than 40 years behind bars for a triple murder in Kansas City.
He testified at his trial he wasn’t at the crime scene and he claimed his innocence for four decades.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said her review convinced her that Strickland was telling the truth.
After the Missouri Supreme Court in June 2021 declined to hear Strickland’s petition for release, Peters Baker used the new state law to seek a hearing. In that hearing, a judge ordered Strickland freed.
State Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, said Johnson spent 28 years in prison for a crime he did not commit “because our justice system failed him.”
“Our state attorney general’s office fought tooth and nail to keep an innocent man behind bars, and even after overwhelming evidence of his innocence, he did not receive a pardon from Missouri’s governor.
“Mr. Johnson deserves apologies from former Attorney General Eric Schmitt, current Attorney General Andrew Bailey, Governor Mike Parson and the state that took away the best years of his life.”
State Rep. Kimberly-Ann Collins, D-St. Louis, said she met with Johnson in the Jefferson City Correctional Center several times and is “overjoyed” with Mason’s ruling.
“The overturning of his conviction illustrates how a system can own up to its mistakes. However, to truly right the wrong that has been done to Mr. Johnson, this same system must take full accountability for its actions as he deserves restitution for nearly three decades of wrongful imprisonment that took away valuable time spent with his family and community.”
Organization for Black Struggle [OBS] spokesperson Jamala Rogers said it “applauds the decision.” “I believe Judge Mason saw the blatant corruption in this case,” Rogers said.
“The hearing was an indictment of the circuit attorney’s office in the 1990’s. We are hopeful that the city and county prosecutor will move aggressively on other wrongful convictions that occurred during the terms of their predecessors.
“The Johnson case is one of many wrongful convictions that OBS has worked on over the years including Ellen Reasonover, Lamont McIntyre, Darryl Burton, Johnny Briscoe and Steve Toney.”
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, who has filed a bill that would make the state pay restitution to wrongfully convicted people, said “While Mr. Johnson celebrates alongside his family, his community and the thousands of people who have supported him along his journey. The state has an obligation to make him as whole as it can after it robbed him of nearly three decades of his life.”
“The General Assembly and the governor must take immediate action that would guarantee restitution and compensation for the wrongfully convicted. Mr. Johnson and other Missourians deemed innocent after serving time deserve nothing less than Missouri’s best efforts to right the wrongs the state has inflicted.”
In 2019, Gardner asked for a new trial in a case that ended up before the Missouri Supreme Court. Then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office argued that Gardner lacked authority to make the request so many years after the case was adjudicated. The March 2021 ruling sided with Schmitt. It required a subsequent new law to clear the path for another chance to free Johnson.
“My office fought long and hard, we took this case all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court. We are pleased that Mr. Johnson will have the opportunity to be the man and member of our community that he desires,” Gardner wrote.
She thanked the Midwest Innocence Project and the attorneys at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner “for their tireless work in the pursuit of correcting the wrongful conviction of Mr. Johnson.”
“It is always in the best interest of our City, State and Nation to ensure that convictions levied on individuals are correct according to the available evidence and constitutional law,” Gardner wrote.