Lawyer Johnson
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Lawyer Johnson was wrongfully convicted of the shooting murder of James Christian, 30, and sentenced to death. The murder occurred on December 17, 1971 in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Another suspect in the murder, Kenneth Myers, claimed to have witnessed the shooting, and identified the photograph of the perpetrator. When the police told Myers that person he identified was in prison at the time of the shooting, Myers changed his story and told the police that Johnson was the murderer. Myers told police that he himself had picked up the victim's gun after the victim was shot, and Myers took the police to the place where he had hidden the gun. Myers claimed that he was with his girlfriend when he witnessed the murder, but he refused to divulge her name.
On appeal, the court granted Johnson a new trial, ruling that Myers should have been forced to divulge the name of the other witnesses who were supposedly there. At the new trial, Myers' girlfriend did not corroborate his account and a new witness testified that he saw Myers flee from the scene, but never saw Johnson. The jury however convicted Johnson again — this time of second-degree murder. This conviction was upheld on appeal.
Several years later, a 19-year-old woman named Dawnielle Montiero came forward and reported that she had actually witnessed the murder and that Myers was the killer. She said Johnson was not there that day. This witness had informed the police at the time of the murder about what she saw, but the police said that because she was only nine years old, her information was not important. Based on this new evidence, Johnson was granted yet another new trial. This time around, the prosecution dropped all charges and Johnson was released in 1982. In 1983, both houses of the Massachusetts legislature approved a bill providing $75,000 compensation to Johnson, but no final action was ever taken on this measure.
