INDIANOLA—Arthur Johnson, 48, wrongfully convicted in 1993 of rape and burglary, went home with his family Monday, Feb. 25, for the first time in a decade and a half. Sunflower County Circuit Judge Ashley Hines still levied $25,000 in bail, even though DNA testing proves Johnson did not commit the rape. Johnson has already served 15 years of his 55-year sentence in Parchman.
On Friday, Jan. 4, 2008, the Mississippi Supreme Court ordered Sunflower County to review Johnson's case based on post-conviction DNA testing carried out by the Innocence Project. That test, performed in August 2005, proved conclusively that Johnson was not the perpetrator of the rape for which he was sentenced. ReliaGene Technologies of New Orleans completed the testing late in 2007 after delays attributed to Hurricane Katrina.
Emily Maw, Johnson's attorney and director of the Louisiana Innocence Project, said at the time: "I've never seen a Supreme Court act so fast in my life." Maw filed a request for post-conviction relief with the court in mid-December 2007. Typically, the court may take several months to respond.
Unlike the state Supreme Court justices, however, Judge Hines and Sunflower County District Attorney Dewayne Richardson apparently felt no compunction toward a quick resolution of the case. Before the hearing, Maw and the Johnson family were confident of Johnson's release, planning a celebration.
Johnson's oldest brother, Bennie R. Johnson Sr., 57, traveled from his home in Pennsylvania to attend the hearing. All four of Johnson's children, Arthur Jr., 19, Dorothy, 20, L.C., 23, and Timothy, 24, were in the courtroom, as were two of his surviving sisters, Bertha Hunter, 50, and Joyce Albert, 51, and a number of their children. No one seems to know exactly how many brothers and sisters Johnson has, or had, since many are no longer alive. His sister Bertha put the number at 15.
In a courtroom half filled with Johnson's family and supporters, in addition to a small coterie of reporters, Hines unwaveringly stuck to his schedule, hearing at least three cases before Johnson's, including a case where he sentenced a Parchman convict to an additional 16 years for possession of contraband—a cell phone. At Johnson's scheduled hearing time of 10 a.m., Hines ordered a 10-minute recess, which lasted closer to 20 minutes.
"There's really no reason not to release Arthur," Maw said.
But the judge was in no hurry to see him go free, ordering the $25,000 bail. Although DNA evidence has cleared him of the rape, Sunflower County has the right to re-try Johnson on all of the original charges, including burglary.
Maw worked to get the amount lowered so that his family could afford to pay it.
A $25,000 bail amounted to an "effective denial of bail," Maw said, and a "considerable hardship" for his family. She also brought up the recent case of Levon Brooks, who, based on a new confession, a Noxubee County judge released on his own recognizance 10 days ago pending a new hearing.
Hines, who seemed to pay little to no attention to Maw's pleas—she said he was in a bad mood—was unmoved, never once actually looking at her while she spoke, instead writing the entire time. Richardson opposed releasing Johnson on his own recognizance. Hines would take Maw's argument under consideration, he said, when she pressed him to make a decision. He would deal with it "as soon as I get off the bench," Hines said. "I'll get to it as soon as I can."
Maw proceeded to negotiate with the court behind closed doors after the hearing to ensure Johnson's release on Monday. In the meantime, the Sunflower County sheriff moved Johnson to his offices so that he could visit with his family.
Ole Miss law professor George Cochran, a board member of the Innocence Project, posted the refundable $2,500 cash bond allowing Johnson to go home to his family instead of spending another night behind bars.
Sunflower County will re-try Johnson in July. Although District Attorney Dewayne Richardson would not comment on what other evidence he might present at that time, the likelihood is that the victim's previous identification will come into play yet again.
Mistaken eye-witness testimony has been a factor in 77 percent of exonerations handled nationwide by the Innocence Project. No physical evidence linked Johnson to the crime for which he served 15 years, and he had no prior violent criminal history.
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