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To win a murder conviction, police and prosecutors made up evidence and secretly paid a witness, St. Louis DA finds | The Washington Post

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To win a murder conviction, police and prosecutors made up evidence and secretly paid a witness, St. Louis DA finds | The Washington Post

The state’s theory stretched the physical limits of the human body. Somehow on the night of Oct. 30, 1994, Lamar Johnson left his friend’s apartment, traveled three miles to Marcus Boyd’s front porch with one other man, killed Boyd, fled on foot and arrived back at the apartment to continue socializing with friends — all in “no more than five minutes.”

Now, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office says it knows how prosecutors managed to convince a jury it was true: Police and prosecutors made up the evidence, according to a 67-page motion seeking to vacate Johnson’s first-degree murder conviction and grant him a new trial after 24 years behind bars.

The accompanying investigative report, made public this week, describes a staggering amount of misconduct on the part of homicide detectives and prosecutors that convicted Johnson and sent him to prison for life with no possibility of parole.

By Meagan Flynn, The Washington Post
Featured Image, Lamar Johnson, in the white pants,
is pictured in a 1994 photo lineup. (St. Louis Circuit Attorney)
Full Article @ The Washington Post