Man who spent 28 years in prison has murder conviction overturned 

A man who spent almost 30 years in prison for murder had his conviction overturned by a Missouri judge on Tuesday. 

Lamar Johnson, 50, was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole for murdering Marcus Boyd in 1994. Boyd was shot by two masked men on Johnson’s front porch. 

Johnson, however, always claimed he didn’t commit the crime, saying that he was with his girlfriend in another location when Boyd was shot. 

On Tuesday, Judge David Mason overturned the conviction after two witnesses provided “reliable evidence of actual innocence — evidence so reliable that it actually passes the standard of clear and convincing.”

After spending 28 years in prison, Johnson was able to leave the St. Louis courtroom as a free man. 

"This is overwhelming," Johnson said. 

After the hearing, Johnson’s attorneys criticized the office of the state attorney for keeping him in prison despite being innocent. They "never stopped claiming Lamar was guilty and was comfortable to have him languish and die in prison," his lawyers said in a statement. 

“The evidence that proved his innocence was available at his trial, but it was kept hidden or ignored by those who saw no value in the lives of two young black men from the South Side,” they added. 

Johnson plans to make up for the time he spent locked up in prison, starting by reconnecting with his family. 

“While today brings joy, nothing can restore all that the state stole from him. Nothing will give him back the nearly three decades he lost while separated from his daughters and family,” his lawyers said.