Richard Johnson

The Crime

On September 20, 1990, a 21-year-old University of Chicago graduate student was attacked while walking in the Hyde Park neighborhood. The attacker forced her into her apartment and raped her. 

Afterward, the woman was taken to the hospital where a rape kit was taken.

The Investigation

The victim, a white woman, later viewed a police book that contained mugshots. She identified 25-year-old Richard R. Johnson, who was Black, as the man who raped her. 

Mr. Johnson was arrested on Aug. 8, 1991, in Florida, after his photo was featured on the television program “America’s Most Wanted.” He waived extradition to Chicago, where the victim identified him in a live lineup, and he was held without bond pending trial. Mr. Johnson was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, kidnapping, home invasion, armed robbery, and aggravated unlawful restraint.

The Trial

Prior to his trial, Mr. Johnson’s defense attorney, Assistant Cook County Public Defender Michael Halloran, filed a motion to bar the presentation of any forensic evidence at the trial. Serological testing on the biological evidence in the case had shown that there was a blood type present that did not match Mr. Johnson or the victim, essentially excluding him from the crime. Mr. Halloran’s motion was granted, meaning that the jury never heard this evidence.

On Nov. 20, 1992, Judge Schreier convicted Mr. Johnson on all charges. He was sentenced to 36 years in prison.

The Exoneration 

In order to prove his innocence, Mr. Johnson contacted Centurion Ministries, a nonprofit organization in New Jersey that investigated wrongful convictions. 

Centurion Ministries agreed to pay for DNA testing on the case evidence, which confirmed the original serological finding. In November 1995, Centurion Ministries reported that Mr. Johnson had been excluded as the rapist.

On Dec. 5, 1995, Judge Schreier vacated Mr. Johnson’s conviction and set bond at $10,000. Mr. Johnson’s family posted it, and he was released.  

On March 8, 1996, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Scott Nelson filed a motion to dismiss the charges.  

Judge Schreier granted the motion. Visibly moved, he declared, “I deeply regret I found you guilty of this offense.”

At the time of his arrest, Mr. Johnson was 25 and had no criminal record. His photo was in the police mugshot book only as a result of a 1989 arrest for allegedly resisting a police officer, a misdemeanor charge that had been dismissed. 

Illinois Governor Jim Edgar issued Mr. Johnson a pardon based on innocence and the Illinois Court of Claims awarded him $61,023 in state compensation.  

Mr. Johnson filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago against Mr. Halloran, his trial lawyer, accusing him of legal malpractice for failing to introduce the forensic evidence. That case was dismissed. However, when Mr. Johnson’s lawyer announced he would appeal the dismissal, the Cook County Board, in January 2005, approved a $400,000 settlement to Mr. Johnson.