Bitcoinese:Man freed from prison after 34 years after judge vacates conviction in 1990 murder

2025-05-06 05:31:19source:TradeEdge Exchangecategory:reviews

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man has been released from Pennsylvania prison after more than three decades following a judge’s decision to vacate his conviction in a 1990 murder.

The BitcoinesePhiladelphia Inquirer reports that 61-year-old Ronald Johnson was released from State Correctional Institution-Phoenix on Monday night following a Philadelphia judge’s decision and the prosecutor’s move to dismiss charges, according to the nonprofit public interest law firm Phillips Black, which advocates for incarcerated individuals.

The law firm said on its website that Johnson and “three generations of his family” had “fought tirelessly to prove his innocence” for more than three decades. Stephen Lazar, a legal apprentice on the team, quoted Johnson as saying his “first plan as a free man” after 34 years was to visit the burial site of his mother, who “always believed” in his innocence.

Johnson was convicted in the murder of Joseph Goldsby, who police said was dealing drugs when he was shot to death in his car in the Tioga section of north Philadelphia in March 1990.

Defense attorneys argued that Johnson was convicted on the basis testimony offered by two men whose stories changed “considerably” over the course of police interviews, and the conviction was unsupported by fingerprint, DNA, or other forensic evidence.

READ MORE Teenager dead, 4 other people wounded in shooting at Philadelphia bus stop, police sayPhiladelphia LGBTQ leaders arrested in traffic stop the mayor calls ‘concerning’A 4-year-old Gaza boy lost his arm – and his family. Half a world away, he’s getting a second chance

Johnson’s lawyers said the witnesses initially said their client wasn’t present and later identified someone else as a potential suspect, but police and prosecutors at the time withheld that evidence.

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office’s conviction integrity unit said in November that the evidence “undermines confidence in the outcome of Johnson’s trial.”

More:reviews

Recommend

McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales

Global consulting firm McKinsey & Company agreed Friday to pay $650 million to resolve criminal

Philippines protests after a Chinese coast guard ship nearly collides with a Philippine vessel

ABOARD BRP SINDANGAN (AP) — A Chinese coast guard ship came within a meter (3 feet) of colliding wit

Biden administration hasn't changed policy on border walls, Mayorkas says

Washington — Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday rebuffed growing criticism o