PUBLISHER'S NOTE: It is worth noting that among the overwhelming evidence of innocence, no forensic evidence proved ties Lamar Johnson to the murder - and, as noted by two state's attornies in a commentary published in a previous post on this Blog, the Conviction Integrity Unit found that Johnson's conviction was obtained through the false testimony of an eyewitness who later recanted and was secretly paid by the state.
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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STORY: "Retired judges call on Mo. Supreme Court to correct potential wrongful conviction," by reporter Emily Hoerner published on February 12, 2020. (Emily Hoerner covers the courts, judges, policing and everything criminal justice for Injustice Watch.)
GIST: "Eleven
retired Missouri judges, including a former state supreme court
justice, contend a St. Louis judge wrongly denied a hearing for a man
convicted of murder even though the prosecutor has concluded he is
innocent and was framed by local police and prosecutors. In a
friend-of-the-court brief filed before the state Supreme Court this
week, the retired judges joined a growing chorus of support including 45
elected prosecutors, legal scholars, criminal defense attorneys and the
American Civil Liberties Union who support the effort by St. Louis
Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner to overturn the conviction of Lamar
Johnson. Last July, Gardner filed a motion
for a new trial in Johnson’s case after her conviction integrity unit
re-investigated the 25-year-old murder investigation into the death of
Marcus Boyd. The
review found that in 1994 and 1995 police fabricated evidence that
linked Johnson to the crime. And during Johnson’s trial, the motion for a
new trial states, prosecutors failed to disclose the extensive criminal
history of a jailhouse informant and more than $4,000 in payments to
the only known living eyewitness to the shooting. But Missouri
22nd Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Hogan never considered the merits of
the motion. Instead, Hogan appointed the Missouri attorney general’s
office to also represent the state in the matter, questioning Gardner’s
authority to even ask that the case be reopened. That set off a
clash between the two prosecutorial agencies, and the attorney general’s
office sought to dismiss the motion for a new trial. Hogan ultimately
declared she had no authority to consider the motion. On appeal,
the appellate court upheld Hogan’s ruling, but the court transferred the
case to the Missouri Supreme Court for further review. In its opinion,
the appellate court cited the fundamental questions about the criminal
justice system the case raised, including the appropriate role of a
prosecutor in correcting wrongful convictions.
Johnson, who has served more than 25 years of a lifetime prison term with no opportunity for parole, remains incarcerated. The
friend-of-the-court brief submitted this week by the retired judges
noted that prosecutor’s obligations include “taking appropriate action
when the prosecutor obtains evidence—even after a conviction is
final—that casts doubt on the conviction.” Johnson’s case is just
one controversy Gardner has faced since she was elected in 2017. The top
prosecutor has been engaged in an increasingly embroiled battle with
the local police. When the Plain View Project in June published a
database of public Facebook posts by St. Louis Metropolitan Police
officers with the potential to undermine public trust in policing,
Gardner placed 22 officers whose posts were included to an exclusion list. Two of those officers have since been fired. In January Gardner filed
a lawsuit against the city of St. Louis, the local police union and
special prosecutors, contending they each have participated in thwarting
her efforts to seek justice and equal rights for racial minorities in
the city. Meanwhile, several bills have been proposed in the state legislature that could curb prosecutorial discretion. One bill
would allow police to seek prosecutions through the Attorney General’s
office if the local circuit attorney declines to prosecute a case. The
bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jim Murphy (R), whose district includes portions
of St. Louis County, said the bill was proposed in part as a reaction to
what is going on with Gardner’s office, as well as what is happening
under another progressive prosecutor, St. Louis County Circuit Attorney
Wesley Bell. “St. Louis has become one of those meccas for social
justice reform by the prosecutors,” Murphy said in a phone interview.
“[They are] making decisions on what laws should and should not be
prosecuted. Their job is to enforce laws not to blanketly nullify them.” He
said the bill is not intended to take away prosecutorial discretion,
but to provide an additional check on decisions made by elected
prosecutors. He said he hopes very few cases would be referred to
the Attorney General, and that the bill would not lead to the types of
clashes between the attorney general and a local circuit attorney
currently underway in Johnson’s case. “Sometimes when somebody’s looking over your shoulder you do your job a little better,” Murphy said. Gardner did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.""The entire story can be read at:
https://www.injusticewatch.org/news/2020/retired-judges-call-on-mo-supreme-court-to-correct-potential-wrongful-conviction/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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