Lamar Johnson Spent 28 Years in Jail Because of a Racist Justice System
Lamar Johnson’s 1995 murder conviction was overturned on Tuesday — but only after he spent most of his life in jail. The circumstances of his wrongful conviction reflect an American justice system quick to condemn working-class men of color.
Lamar Johnson, center, and his attorneys react on February 14, 2023, after St Louis Circuit Court judge David Mason vacated Johnson’s murder conviction during a hearing at Mel Carnahan Courthouse in St Louis, Missouri. (Christian Gooden / Pool / St. Louis Post-Dispatch / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
On Tuesday afternoon, the courtroom erupted in cheers as St Louis Circuit Court judge David Mason announced his decision to overturn Lamar Johnson’s 1995 murder conviction. Johnson — now forty-nine years old — wiped tears from his eyes as the verdict was read. Johnson has spent more than half of his life in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Post-conviction relief is a notoriously difficult area of law, as once a jury verdict has been entered it can be nearly impossible to overturn. Yet, thanks to a new Missouri law enacted in May 2021, local prosecutors now have the power to challenge past wrongful convictions from their offices, a legal mechanism established in other states and long overdue in Missouri.
St Louis, Missouri is a city that has been particularly plagued by difficulties and scandals in the operation of its criminal legal system. In 2014, St Louis County came under national scrutiny in the wake of the Ferguson uprising and investigations by the US Department of Justice that revealed a legal system comprised of predatory and racist policies enacted by the Ferguson Police Department and enforced by local municipal courts.
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