Monday, July 5, 2021

Lamar Johnson: Missouri; His prosecutors say he is innocent; The State Governor doesn't seem to care that an innocent man has already been behind bars. Now, a St. Louis police group bound together by the ethical principles they share wants the county to fire the police officer they claim wrongfully put Johnson in prison in the first place by fabricating evidence, The St. Louis American (Reporter Dana Rieck) reports...."William E. Dailey Jr., ESOP’s general counsel, said in addition to terminating Nickerson, they want to see Parson pardon Johnson — particularly because Johnson’s innocence is not in question. “We want consistency in terms of how we address these situations and so now the question becomes — and everyone can watch and ask the same question, as well — about those who are in power to correct it so that the system can heal itself— are they doing what we all think ought to be done? And if not, then the final piece of the system, the most powerful piece of the system, is the people.”


BACKGROUND: "Johnson, 47, has been incarcerated since 1995, serving a life sentence without parole for first degree murder for killing Marcus Boyd in 1994 in St. Louis. Since then, two witness recantations led St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner to file a motion for a new trial for Johnson in 2019, who has now spent 26 years in jail.  In March, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that state law does not give prosecutors authority to seek a new trial so many years after the case was adjudicated. Johnson, who is Black, remains in prison."... His case is closely tied to that of Kevin Strickland (also being closely followed by this Blog - who is  also is being kept in prison by the Missouri Attorney General in spite of the efforts of  local prosecutors to free him because they believe he is innocent. (HL);

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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: From its web-site at the link below:  "The Ethical Society of Police (ESOP) is an association of police officers, park rangers, and civilians that advocates for racial and gender equity in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and St. Louis County Police Department. ESOP was founded in 1972 to address racial biases within law enforcement. ESOP also works to improve community/police relations, develop policies and programs to reduce crime, elevate the status of minority civilians and police officers, encourage greater minority employment by law enforcement agencies, and increase professionalism in law enforcement. "

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In 2019, Nickerson adamantly denied in a The St. Louis Post-Dispatch interview that he falsified evidence or documents and maintained his belief that Lamar is guilty. On Tuesday, several leaders asserted there is concrete evidence of his alleged wrongdoing in the case (mainly evidence fabrication) and called for Barton to terminate him and for St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell to investigate the alleged wrongdoing........Gray was joined Tuesday by members of the Missouri Faith Leadership Council, the Missionary Baptist State Convention of Missouri and the Social Justice Commission of the Progressive Missionary State Baptist Convention. “It was then-Detective Nickerson who fabricated a case against [Johnson] and was responsible for his incarceration,” said Rev. Linden Bowie. “It blows our minds that such a person can still be employed by St. Louis County police. I just wanted to be here to inform that community that this is no knee-jerk reaction, we have been seeking some actions surrounding this for quite a while.”


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QUOTE OF THE DAY:  “If Sgt. Nickerson were a Black officer who was guilty of doing the very same thing we know he did, there is no doubt in our minds that he would be terminated and probably charged right now." - Rev. Darryl Gray.

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STORY: "(Ethical Society of Police) ESOP: County must fire former city cop involved in Lamar Johnson case,"  by Dana Rieck, published by The St. Louis American, on July 3, 2021.

SUB-HEADING: "Activists allege 'political amnesia.'"

GIST: "The Ethical Society of Police (ESOP) is demanding that St. Louis County Police Chief Mary Barton terminate civilian employee Joseph Nickerson for his role in the Lamar Johnson case.


Nickerson works in the county police recruitment department doing background investigations, but he was the principal St. Louis city homicide detective in Johnson’s case in 1994. In his current role, activists say he’s been given the power to impact the employment of others based on his testament to their suitability to be police officers — something they don’t believe he is fit to do given his prior behavior.


“If Sgt. Nickerson were a Black officer who was guilty of doing the very same thing we know he did, there is no doubt in our minds that he would be terminated and probably charged right now.' - Rev. Darryl Gray  


Johnson, 47, has been incarcerated since 1995, serving a life sentence without parole for first degree murder for killing Marcus Boyd in 1994 in St. Louis. Since then, two witness recantations led St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner to file a motion for a new trial for Johnson in 2019, who has now spent 26 years in jail. 


In March, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that state law does not give prosecutors authority to seek a new trial so many years after the case was adjudicated.

Johnson, who is Black, remains in prison.


In 2019, Nickerson adamantly denied in a The St. Louis Post-Dispatch interview that he falsified evidence or documents and maintained his belief that Lamar is guilty.


On Tuesday, several leaders asserted there is concrete evidence of his alleged wrongdoing in the case (mainly evidence fabrication) and called for Barton to terminate him and for St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell to investigate the alleged wrongdoing.


“If Sgt. Nickerson were a Black officer who was guilty of doing the very same thing that we know he did, there is no doubt in our minds that he would be terminated and probably charged right now,” Rev. Darryl Gray said.  


Gray was joined Tuesday by members of the Missouri Faith Leadership Council, the Missionary Baptist State Convention of Missouri and the Social Justice Commission of the Progressive Missionary State Baptist Convention.


“It was then-Detective Nickerson who fabricated a case against [Johnson] and was responsible for his incarceration,” said Rev. Linden Bowie. “It blows our minds that such a person can still be employed by St. Louis County police. I just wanted to be here to inform that community that this is no knee-jerk reaction, we have been seeking some actions surrounding this for quite a while.”


Bowie, who is president of the Missouri Faith Leadership Council and the Missionary Baptist State Convention of Missouri, said the group of activists have talked to Gov. Mike Parson, Barton, Bell and St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, among other leaders.


They’re worried there might be other people wrongly incarcerated in cases Nickerson investigated.

“And so, we are simply asking that those who are empowered — from our county executive, our governor, our state's attorney, the police chief — would do their jobs so that this community can know that we do have a fair and equitable policing system,” Bowie said, noting later that he believed Barton “passed the ball off” in their conversations.


Both Barton and Bell declined interview requests, instead issuing written statements through their respective media representatives.


"These are serious allegations, and we will review them carefully,” Bell wrote. “We encourage anyone who is aware of illegal conduct by this detective to contact our independent Conviction and Incident Review Unit."


“The assignment of department employees, whether full-time or intermittent, is a personnel matter,” Barton wrote. “Employees will continue to serve in their roles until/unless they are transferred to meet the needs of the department or facts emerge that would inhibit their ability to serve in such a capacity. If faced with the latter, the department would appropriately address the matter without delay.”


Bowie said their goal is to first resolve these issues behind closed doors, which they did through multiple meetings with state and local leaders, but felt it was time to bring the issue to the public.


“It appears to be a political amnesia that they all of a sudden have no memory of the facts, we’re calling out now from the community to reign in on getting Joseph Nickerson — who is an intermittent part-time employee who can be removed today if the powers at be would put the action in,” said Philip Duvall, chairman of the Social Justice Commission of the Progressive Missionary  State Baptist Convention.


Duvall said the group’s next action is to file a more formal complaint with a review agency and contact the FBI’s civil rights department to see if there are any constitutional considerations in why Nickerson should remain employed.


William E. Dailey Jr., ESOP’s general counsel, said in addition to terminating Nickerson, they want to see Parson pardon Johnson — particularly because Johnson’s innocence is not in question.


“We want consistency in terms of how we address these situations and so now the question becomes — and everyone can watch and ask the same question, as well — about those who are in power to correct it so that the system can heal itself—  are they doing what we all think ought to be done? And if not, then the final piece of the system, the most powerful piece of the system, is the people.”


Gardner and Page did not immediately respond to a request for comment."


Thee entire story can be read at:


http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/esop-county-must-fire-former-city-cop-involved-in-lamar-johnson-case/article_a5a3c126-d9c1-11eb-b564-b74c26deb237.html

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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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;