Jackson Free Press

While the state is mesmerized by the Scruggs saga, another type of judicial corruption is begging for attention. Arrested in 1992 for rape, a Sunflower County jury found Arthur Johnson guilty after a two-day trial in '93, where the victim's identification swayed the verdict despite a solid alibi. On Jan. 4, the Mississippi Supreme Court sent the case back to Sunflower County based on a DNA test showing conclusively that Johnson was not the perpetrator.

After 16 years, District Attorney Dwayne Richardson needs to move with alacrity to set Johnson free.

The opportunity extends far deeper than just freeing Johnson, however. Mississippi must do the right thing for all wrongfully convicted defendants wasting in our prisons. Far from the limelight and media frenzy of high-profile cases, the state's power structure has too long ignored a system that metes out justice only to those who can afford it.

Being poor and uneducated in this state virtually guarantees that being arrested will land you in jail, where the chances are you'll remain for a year or longer before even speaking to an attorney. That attorney, because you can't afford better, will often be inexperienced, uninformed about your case and unprepared for trial. Odds are your lawyer will recommend a plea, even if you're innocent.

At trial, the state will call eyewitnesses to point the finger at you and forensic experts to prove the state's theory of the crime. Even if your lawyer knows how to refute them, the judge may or may not provide the resources to do so.

Eyewitness testimony, especially in traumatic or cross-racial circumstances, is wrong twice as often as it is right. But the jury probably won't ever hear that.

Mississippi has an abundance of honest, hard-working police who arrest the right people. We have plenty of sincere district attorneys, lawyers and judges who do not bow to public pressure—or private money. But some defendants aren't lucky enough to have those people in their corner. And if that's one individual or a hundred, we owe it to them to ensure a fair trial and adequate representation—even 16 years later.

It's high time for the Mississippi Legislature to level the playing field of justice in this state. What it will take is setting aside our fragile egos, righteous indignation, political ambitions and overwrought sense of entitlement. Mississippi's Innocence Project has a plan to give justice to the Arthur Johnsons in our prisons today that will start us on a path to ensure we never again incarcerate an innocent person. We must demand this judicial reform.