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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
First Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
47 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
10.5 |
Year Crime: |
2003 |
Year Convicted: |
2007 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Illinois |
County or Region of Crime: |
Cook |
City of Crime: |
Chicago |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Anthony Johnson was twice wrongly convicted of first-degree murder for a drive-by shooting in Chicago on October 1, 2003. After Johnson's conviction in 2007 he was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. The Illinois Court of Appeals overturned his conviction in 2010, and after his retrial in 2012 he was sentenced to 47 years in prison. On December 31, 2013 the Illinois Court of Appeals vacated Johnson's conviction on the basis of insufficiency of the evidence, and "Since the evidence at retrial was insufficient for a finding of accountability, defendant may not be tried for Baity's murder a third time." (People v. Johnson, 2013 IL App (1st) 122459, ¶ 160) The appeals court also strongly admonished the prosecution for its conduct during closing arguments, particularly that "The State inflamed the passions and prejudices of the jury when it compared defendant to the Nazis, and claimed that his defense was no different than those who were tried in Nuremberg for crimes against humanity. In all of history, there was hardly a more heinous group than the Nazis. By invoking the Nuremberg trials of Nazis, the State drew a comparison between defendant and war criminals that were tried for the worst atrocities in modern human history. This type of conduct has no place in the courtroom. We want to emphasize that this is not conduct we would want to see again." Id. at ¶ 164. The Illinois Supreme Court granted the State's petition for review, and reversed and remanded back to the Court of Appeals. On December 31, 2014 the appeals court again reversed with an opinion that mirrored its 2013 opinion." |
Conviction Caused By: |
During closing arguments the prosecution compared Johnson's defense to that used by the Nazis at Nuremberg. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On December 31, 2013 the Illinois Court of Appeals vacated Johnson's conviction on the basis of insufficiency of the evidence, and "Since the evidence at retrial was insufficient for a finding of accountability, defendant may not be tried for Baity's murder a third time." (People v. Johnson, 2013 IL App (1st) 122459, ¶ 160)" |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
18 |
Age When Released: |
29 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"People v. Johnson, No. 1-12-2459 (Ill. App Ct, 1st Dist., 5th Div., 12-31-2014 (Reversing conviction and barring retrial)" |
Information Location 1: |
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Information Source 2: |
"People v. Johnson, 2013 IL App (1st) 122459 (12-31-2013)" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2013/1stDistrict/1122459.pdf |
Information Source 3: |
"Court raps prosecutor, throws out murder conviction: Prosecutor criticized for making comparison to NazisBy Steve Mills (staff writer), Chicago Tribune, January 3, 2014" |
Information Location 3: |
"http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-murder-conviction-overturned-nazi-met-20140103,0,5052052.story" |
Information Source 4: |
"People v. Johnson, No. 1-08-0233 (2010) " |
Information Location 4: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org