Chicago man has 1996 murder conviction vacated, released from prison after nearly 30 years
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago man had his conviction vacated this week after he served nearly 30 years in prison.
Robert Johnson was released from prison Thursday evening.
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Johnson spoke to the media around 6:30 p.m. after his reunion with family members, including his 92-year-old grandmother.
The Exoneration Project worked for years to make the sweet moment possible.
"My Grandma, she used to always say, 'Well Robert I hope I'm here when you get out,' and I use to always say, 'Grandma don't say that. You going to be here,'" Johnson said.
He stayed true to his word. And so did his grandmother.
"That's my grandma right there, Mary Robinson," Johnson said.
Finally, a tender kiss on the cheek between grandmother and grandson.
"She never left me," Johnson said.
"God's been good," Robinson said. "He brought him home."
Robinson gripped onto her grandson tightly in an emotional embrace nearly 30 years in the making.
"I am just thankful that we got in front of a judge that was honorable that was fair and finally put an end to this nightmare," Johnson said. "This hell on earth."
The 43-year-old is a free man after his murder conviction was vacated. He was arrested when he was just 16 years old.
The fight to freedom, Robert said, brought him to his knees.
"I tried. I screamed with nobody listening to me," Johnson said.
At one point, almost giving up.
"No matter how many 'no's' I got, I got one yes, and that's when things started changing," Johnson said.
He is now making plans to get back to his life with his family while advocating for those just like him.
"I would really like to start making the world more conscious of, there are a lot of people in prison for things they did not do," Johnson said.
ABC7 saw his family in court earlier Thursday as they could barely contain their excitement after hearing the news of his exoneration, and it's something they said is more than 28 years overdue.
"He's free at last... free at last, God almighty," Johnson's aunt Patricia Lee said.
Johnson's family thought the day would never come.
"I tried everything I could, but he was just caught in the system, and I'm just so happy that somebody... got help for my nephew," Johnson's aunt Angela Robinson said.
The work of the Exoneration Project over the last couple of years led to Wednesday's decision of vacating Johnson's conviction in the 1996 murder of Eddie Binion.
On Thursday, the state chose not to file a petition to keep Johnson in jail as they mull the possibility of a retrial.
"The entire state's case relied on the testimony of one of Mr. Johnson's co defendants who was a juvenile at the time, and had allegedly been coerced to sign a statement implicating Mr. Johnson," said Megan Richardson, staff attorney at the Exoneration Project.
Richardson said witnesses have come forward implicating another person in this murder, but said that person has passed away.
Meanwhile, Johnson's family is overwhelmed with emotion as they finally bring their loved one home, while trying to make up for decades of lost time.
"He missed out on a lifetime of experiences that he can never regain again... he can never get that time back," Johnson's aunt Cynthia Booker said. "It's going to be exhilarating to actually see and touch him in real time."
On March 13, the state will decide if it wants to retry the case, but Johnson's attorneys are optimistic that there is not enough evidence to do so.
Robert's family said they planned to take him to Cheesecake Factory Thursday so he could have anything he wants.
