Our client and friend Lawyer Johnson has passed away

With great sadness, we share the news that our client and friend Lawyer Johnson has passed away.

Lawyer’s life embodied an important chapter in the civil rights movement. Lawyer, a black man, was wrongfully convicted of murdering a white man in 1972. Racial bias permeated Lawyer’s trials. Originally sentenced to death, Lawyer served ten years in prison before being freed. He described this experience as a “legal lynching.”

Howard was a first-year law student when he first met Lawyer during Lawyer’s second criminal trial. Eventually Howard’s former law partner, Michael Avery, won Lawyer’s freedom on a motion for a new trial. Then our firm represented Lawyer on his compensation claim under state law for his wrongful conviction.

During the ten years Lawyer spend unjustly incarcerated, he found hope in meditation, advocating for the rights of people in prison, and art. Lawyer was a skilled artist, creating detailed and deeply symbolic works.

After gaining his freedom, Lawyer committed himself to opposing the death penalty and fighting racism. He promoted the Massachusetts erroneous conviction bill that would eventually allow him to gain some compensation. He was an active member of Witness to Innocence and Massachusetts Citizens Against the Death Penalty. He shared his story to high schoolers, college students, law students, community forums, politicians, and people at anti-death-penalty events across the country.

We are grateful to Lawyer for inspiring meaningful change in our criminal legal system. We are motivated by Lawyer’s eternal optimism and belief that a better world is possible. Thank you, Lawyer Johnson.