ST. LOUIS — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt asked the court Thursday to sanction Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, alleging her office withheld evidence in the case of a man whose murder conviction she is seeking to vacate.
The accusations come days before a circuit judge is set to hear arguments and determine if Lamar Johnson, a St. Louis man sentenced almost 30 years ago to life in prison for murder, should be set free. That hearing is scheduled to begin Monday.
Gardner’s office, which filed to overturn Johnson’s life sentence in August, disputed Schmitt’s accusations.
The Johnson case has gained national attention because of the legal conundrum it has presented: there was no settled way for a Missouri prosecutor to ask a court to vacate a wrongful conviction.
Missouri lawmakers sought to provide a clear legal path and, with Johnson in mind, passed a law in 2021 that created a process when there is “clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence or constitutional error at the original trial or plea that undermines confidence in the judgment.â€
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The law also permits the attorney general’s office to make arguments, appear and question witnesses in a hearing for the motion to vacate.
Schmitt’s office requested documents and evidence in the Johnson case last month. Gardner’s office turned over materials, as directed by the court, but Schmitt’s office alleges the full forensic report done this year on Johnson’s jacket was omitted.
The attorney general’s office contacted the crime lab on its own. Results indicated there was gunshot residue but no DNA, according to its motion.
“Discovery rules are meaningless unless appropriate sanctions are imposed on those who disobey the rules,†Schmitt said in the Thursday motion.
Gardner’s office said in a statement: “It is unconscionable that the Attorney General would twist the facts to suit his personal agenda. This is not the first time this office has used the justice system to play politics. The Office of the Circuit Attorney at no point intentionally concealed evidence.â€
Schmitt is asking for a hearing Friday to determine if he can amend the state’s witness and exhibit list and limit the cross-examination regarding forensic tests on Johnson’s jacket during the hearing next week.
Police found the jacket in 1994 when they pulled over Johnson and co-defendant Phillip Campbell during a traffic stop. Both Campbell and Johnson were convicted in 1995 for the murder of 25-year-old Marcus Boyd. In recent years, Campbell and another man, James Howard, have both confessed to the murder, stating Johnson had nothing to do with it.
The circuit attorney’s office has argued that Johnson is innocent since at least 2019. That’s when its Conviction Integrity Unit investigation report alleged police corruption, coerced and recanted testimony from witnesses and other fallacies in the investigation and trial that resulted in Johnson’s conviction.
And Schmitt has worked to block Johnson’s release since at least 2019, filing motions questioning the validity of the recanted witness statements and claiming procedural errors in Johnson’s legal efforts to prove his innocence.
In asking for Gardner to be sanctioned, Schmitt’s filing cited Gardner’s reprimand and fine of $750 from the Missouri Supreme Court for professional misconduct earlier this year, related to her prosecution of former Gov. Eric Greitens.
