Lamar Johnson, and Kevin Strickland before him, are the first two beneficiaries so far of a measure Missouri lawmakers approved two years ago giving local prosecutors an avenue to correct a grave injustice. Under the new law, a prosecutor may, at any time, file a motion for a judge to vacate or set aside a guilty verdict based on new information or evidence that clears the convicted person of wrongdoing.
That law has already helped free the two men wrongfully convicted of murder, and it was a positive step toward ensuring the integrity of the state’s criminal justice system. But Johnson and Strickland, like those who will surely be freed after them, are left holding an empty bag once they’re released from the prison cells they never should have been sent to in the first place.
Unless DNA evidence absolves an innocent person, Missouri doesn’t compensate prisoners released from custody for a crime they didn’t commit. It should. Lawmakers must act with urgency to advance bipartisian legislation currently in the state Senate that would provide restitution, housing, tuition assistance, medical care and other social services for prisoners on the wrong end of an unjust conviction.
Kansas did it. Missouri should too. Wrongly convicted Kansas prisoners are eligible to receive $65,000 in restitution for each year they were locked up. Exonerees in that state are also offered other benefits such as access to health and mental health services, housing and tuition assistance.
Johnson left a Missouri prison this week a free man for the first time in almost three decades. The St. Louis man was convicted of the 1994 murder of Markus Boyd — a crime he did not commit, as he and prosecutors have contended for years. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office reviewed the evidence and determined Johnson had nothing to do with the killing. St. Louis Circuit Court Judge David C. Mason agreed.
However, Johnson and others erroneously convicted should not have to depend on the benevolence of others as they transition from prison to society. Many people in this situation are left at a tremendous disadvantage. They were kept from educational opportunities and formative years in the workforce where free Americans build the foundation for their future careers.
Put yourself in their shoes: Lamar Johnson is 49. He’s starting from scratch. The state robbed him of the opportunities all young adults deserve as they start out in life.
Gardner’s motion to vacate Johnson’s conviction was appealed by the Missouri attorney general’s office. Gardner had no legal authority to overturn the conviction, the AG’s office argued in court. The Missouri Supreme Court concurred, suggesting the Missouri legislature take up the issue.
In 2021, the General Assembly passed a law that gave local prosecutors the right to challenge in court an erroneous conviction on two grounds: Clear and convincing evidence of innocence, or a constitutional error such as ineffective counsel. We supported that legislation.
Strickland became the first prisoner in Missouri freed under the new law. About $1.8 million in donations has poured in from across the globe to help him adjust financially to the transition from prison after spending four decades locked up for a triple murder he did not commit.
Johnson spent nearly 28 years incarcerated until his conviction was overturned. By Thursday, a GoFundMe campaign for his benefit had reached six figures.
Both were fortunate their cases drew international attention and support. The same can’t be said about other exonerees such as Keith Carnes, a Kansas City man who returned to society after serving 18 years in prison on a faulty murder rap.
Carnes’ conviction was tainted by shoddy detective work and a secret witness. He’s been free for less than a year and will not receive a dime from the state. Help with housing? Nope. Tuition assistance? No. Mental health services? Forget about it.
The transition has been rough, Carnes, 52, said. He is married but unemployed. He hasn’t yet hit even $10,000 through a GoFundMe fundraiser.
“I’m trying to make something out of nothing,” Carnes said.
Guilty prisoners released on parole receive more state-funded aid than innocent people. Parolees are provided help with counseling, housing and work.
“It ain’t right,” Carnes said. He’s right.
Exonerated prisoners such as Carnes, Strickland and Johnson must go on with their lives without financial assistance from the same state that vigorously fought to send and keep them in prison. An unjust and inequitable legal system hurts us all.
Missouri has one of the strictest compensation laws in the nation, civil rights advocates contend. The state must adopt a policy at least equivalent to the one in Kansas.
Missouri can and must do better. No amount of money can right a past wrong. No dollar amount can make whole again a person sent to prison for something they did not do. The state should be legally bound to provide restitution it’s already ethically obliged to.
Lawmakers can no longer bury their heads in the sand. Police, prosecutors and jurors sometimes get it wrong. It’s unconscionable that people wrongfully convicted of a crime are set free without means to care for themselves. Why shouldn’t exonerees be compensated for the state’s error?
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