Missouri Lawyers Awards 2024: Matthew Jacober, Alana McMullin, Alex Brown, Lindsay Runnels, Kylie Mank and Tricia Rojo Bushnell

Matthew Jacober, Partner, Lathrop GPM, Clayton
Alana McMullin, Attorney, Lathrop GPM, Kansas City
Alexander Brown, Attorney, Lathrop GPM, Kansas City
Lindsay Runnels, Attorney, Morgan Pilate, Kansas City
Kylie. P. Mank, Attorney, Morgan Pilate, Kansas City
Tricia Rojo Bushnell, Executive Director, Midwest Innocence Project, Kansas City

Thanks to a team of dedicated attorneys, Valentine’s Day is a little sweeter for Lamar Johnson, who was exonerated on Feb. 14, 2023, nearly 30 years after he was sentenced to life in prison for a murder he did not commit.

Lawyers with Lathrop GPM, Morgan Pilate and the Midwest Innocence Project labored for over a decade to secure Johnson’s release with help from a new law that gives prosecutors a pathway to set aside potential wrongful convictions.

The case stemmed from the murder of St. Louis resident Marcus Boyd who was shot to death on his front porch in 1994 by two masked men.

While languishing in prison, Johnson set about to prove his innocence, impressing attorneys with his tenacity, and inspiring them to take his case.

Tricia Rojo Bushnell, executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project, led the team of five attorneys who donated hundreds of pro bono hours to the effort.

Matthew Jacober, a partner at Lathrop GPM was one of them.

“The way Lamar reacted to his wrongful incarceration with such grace and dignity is something I don’t think I will ever get over,” Jacober said. “He climbed a mountain that must have seemed insurmountable.”

Lindsay Runnels, a criminal defense attorney with Morgan Pilate, and a member of the legal team is happy for Johnson, yet concerned for others who were wrongly convicted.

“You feel like you’re spitting into the ocean, because there are many more Lamars in prison,” she said. “It’s daunting to consider how profound the consequences of wrongful conviction are.”

In 2019, attorneys convinced the St. Louis Circuit attorney of Johnson’s innocence, but the Missouri Supreme Court blocked efforts to seek a new trial because so much time had passed. Then in 2021, Missouri lawmakers enacted a law enabling prosecutors to request hearings in cases of potential wrongful conviction.

And while Johnson’s outcome gives Bushnell hope for the future, she knows the road ahead will be riddled with potholes.

“The more cases that are handled like this in the future, the better it will be for everybody in Lamar’s shoes,” she said. “Maybe it gets easier, but it probably won’t, unfortunately.”