Lamar Johnson

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson reduced Britt Reid's sentence after Reid crashed his truck into two vehicles near the Chiefs’ practice facility in February 2021 while drunk, permanently injuring a 5-year-old girl. Reid is Kansas City Chief head coach Andy Reid's son.

Johnson had long maintained he did not shoot and kill Marcus Boyd in 1994. A judge ruled last year that “clear and convincing” evidence showed Johnson was innocent and freed him after 28 years.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson cited the language that expanded who receives restitution after being wrongfully convicted would have burdened taxpayers with that extra cost. Supporters of the legislation say Parson vetoing the bill is disappointing.

Two key witnesses against Christopher Dunn recanted their testimony but a quirk of Missouri law makes applying for actual innocence claims impossible except in death penalty cases.

Neither Lamar Johnson nor Kevin Strickland have received compensation from the Missouri for the decades they spent wrongfully incarcerated. That’s because Missouri law only allows for payments to prisoners who prove their innocence through specific DNA testing — which was not the case for either man. A new Missouri Senate bill would change that.

Attorney Lindsay Runnels of the Kansas City-based law firm Morgan Pilate has represented Lamar Johnson since 2015. Johnson was freed this week after serving 28 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Lamar Johnson isn’t eligible for state restitution because DNA evidence wasn’t used to overturn his murder conviction.

Judge David Mason ruled that there was no longer "clear and convincing" evidence to keep Lamar Johnson in prison for a 1994 slaying in St. Louis.

Judge David Mason says he’ll hold a hearing to announce his decision but has not yet set a date.

A 2021 state law carved out a narrow role the attorney general’s office can play in innocence claims filed by local prosecutors.