ST. LOUIS — After nearly three decades in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, Lamar Johnson is finally free.
5 On Your Side’s Laura Barczewski got a chance to sit down with him one-on-one to talk about his fight to prove his innocence and life after prison.
It was an amazing day for Lamar Johnson when a judge threw out his murder conviction, but it was a long, hard 28 years to get there.
He’s now happy to finally be with his family but there are still some challenges.
In 1995, Johnson’s life changed forever. He was convicted of murdering his friend Markus Boyd and sentenced to life in prison; all for a crime he didn’t commit.
“It was scary. But at the same time, I've always been hopeful,” Johnson said.
He was hopeful that someone would see the truth.
He went down every legal avenue to prove his innocence, exhausting appeals, and the justice system failed him again.
But then a law was changed that gave him one more shot in court where Judge David Mason gave him a new lease on life.
“Not only did he say that there's a constitutional error, but that I was actually innocent. And so that really mattered to me,” Johnson said.
“Do you want to tell people now, again, you didn't do this, that you are innocent?” Barczewski asked.
Johnson said, “I did not do this. I did not do this. I love Markus. He was a good friend of mine. He was there for me. We were there for each other in difficult times in our life. And I'll always hold on to that.”
His family stood by him and never doubted his innocence.
Johnson’s daughter, Kiera Barrow, never knew him outside of a prison cell, as she was only a few months old when he was locked up.
“It's been a very traumatizing experience. And so, there's no way to give us back the time and the life experiences that we were robbed of. But we're just ready to pick up the pieces now and continue living our lives together,” Barrow said.
Barczewski asked her, “And now to be able to spend time with him, you have some pretty big milestones coming up yourself, how important is for you?”
She said, “It's extremely important. I'm getting married in April, this April. And so, this is going to be one of the most important days of my life. And because we have been robbed of so much, it means a lot that he's going to be there, to walk me down the aisle. I never thought that this day would come.”
Johnson said he’s not going to miss another milestone.
“To be able to give my daughter away, even just to be there would be more than more than anything I can ever describe,” Johnson said.
“How are you feeling now?” Barczewski asked.
"I'm feeling great. I'm excited about life. I'm happy to be out,” Johnson said.
The Midwest Innocence Project organized a crowdfunding fundraiser to support Johnson as he re-enters society.