Five men who were wrongly convicted and imprisoned by the state of Maryland have been offered “generous” compensation, said the lawyer for one of them 鈥� and the packages could be approved as early as Wednesday.
Geoffrey Derrick, the lawyer for Lamar Johnson, one of the exonerated men, told 草莓传媒 on Tuesday that Maryland鈥檚 Board of Public Works had reached out to each of the five and said they鈥檇 determined each of the men would receive $78,916 per year 鈥� the present median income in Maryland 鈥� for the time they were unlawfully incarcerated, counting from the date of their sentence until they were released.
鈥淲e are ecstatic with this offer from the state,鈥� Derrick said, adding, 鈥淚 believe it puts Maryland toward the top of states nationwide鈥� in terms of such compensation.
Johnson spent a little more than 13 years in prison for a 2004 murder in Baltimore that he didn鈥檛 commit; he is in line to get $953,672.
Asked to describe Johnson鈥檚 reaction to the offer, Derrick said, 鈥淗e was incredibly excited and relieved.鈥�
Johnson was released from prison in 2017, and filed his petition about a year and a half ago.
鈥淭his is the final mile in a marathon for Lamar,鈥� Derrick said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a lengthy process, and he was very excited that at the end of all this, that the state saw fit to award this amount of compensation.鈥�
‘Misidentification’
Derrick said Johnson was convicted based on eyewitness testimony that produced 鈥渁 misidentification.鈥� Two witnesses identified him from a photo, even though Johnson鈥檚 photo was the only one that fit the description of what the killer looked like.
鈥淎ll the while, from his trial to his first day to his last day in prison,鈥� Derrick said of Johnson, “he maintained he was innocent.鈥�
After a few years in prison, Johnson learned from some other inmates about the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project.
Lawyers for the project found new evidence, Derrick said, including a new witness who 鈥渢estified contrary to the witnesses at trial,鈥� who eventually 鈥渢otally recanted their trial testimony.鈥�
Johnson鈥檚 defense lawyers argued that the new evidence 鈥渃reated a substantial likelihood that the outcome of the trial would have been different had the full scope of the evidence been presented to the jury,鈥� Derrick said, and the Baltimore Attorney Conviction Integrity Unit agreed with the defense lawyers 鈥渢hat there was not sufficient evidence to sustain the conviction.鈥�
‘A model exoneree’
Johnson was in his early 20s when he was imprisoned; he is 36 now.
Derrick said there are 鈥渟urprisingly few鈥� resources for people in his situation, who have been denied years of earning potential and have an awkward hole in their work histories.
鈥淏ut he is a model exoneree in the sense that he has done a fantastic job trying to get back on his feet,鈥� Derrick said.
Johnson does handiwork of various kinds at Blue Ocean Realty. He got the job after an executive from the firm heard Johnson speak at an Innocence Project fundraiser 鈥� something the exoneree does regularly, his lawyer said.
With the compensation, he said, Johnson is 鈥渆xcited to take this money and start a business, to perhaps improve his mom鈥檚 living situation, and the like.鈥� He wants to buy some properties of his own in the Baltimore area and rent them out himself.
The Board of Public Works is set to meet Wednesday; Derrick said that if they don鈥檛 approve the compensation at that meeting, he has been told it will only be a matter of a few weeks.
鈥淎ll systems are go,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just excited that Lamar will have the opportunity to start his life anew.鈥�
Standard procedure?
The other four who have petitioned for compensation are Hubert James Williams, Jerome Johnson, Walter Lomax and Clarence Shipley. Together, they spent about 120 years in prison; that would make the total compensation just under $9.5 million.
Derrick said the first $78,916 payment would be made within 30 days, and the full amount would be paid in installments, finishing up by the summer of 2025.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has pushed for the legislature to set standard procedures for such cases in the future, so that anyone else in the five men’s situation won’t have to wait so long.
Derrick said there hasn’t been a similar compensation case in Maryland in more than 10 years: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 fault the Maryland government for the time it鈥檚 taken to resolve these petitions.鈥�
That said, he hopes future exonerees wait months, rather than years, for compensation. To force them to wait years, he said, 鈥減uts vulnerable men and women in an exceedingly difficult situation.鈥�
‘We’re all thrilled’
A standard procedure is exactly what the lawyers for Williams are looking for. It took nearly two years to get to this day, said lawyer Andrew George, and 鈥渨e鈥檙e all thrilled.鈥�
Williams was in prison for 12 years, and has been homeless for most of the past 10 years 鈥� George said Williams was panhandling as recently as a few weeks ago.
鈥淛ames has had a life that is pretty hard to imagine 鈥� and the fact that he is never going to have to live that way again feels really good to all of us,鈥� George said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled that our client lives to see this day, which, unfortunately, was a question.鈥�
Williams will get about $900,000; his lawyers worked pro bono. In fact, one of the provisions of the compensation offer was that the lawyers are not entitled to any of the money. 鈥淭he money is the least of our concerns,鈥� George said.
鈥淛ames was thrilled,鈥� said lawyer Jana Seidl. 鈥淗e will now have a roof over his head. For him, this is a new start.鈥�
草莓传媒鈥檚 Dick Uliano contributed to this report.
