93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
(AP) — The effort to get a new trial for a man who has spent nearly 25 years in prison for a murder he claims he didn’t commit is headed to the Missouri Supreme Court.
A Missouri appeals court on Tuesday referred the Lamar Johnson case to the state Supreme Court. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has been seeking a new trial for Johnson, who was convicted in the 1994 killing of 25-year-old Marcus Boyd in an alleged drug dispute.
But the Republican state attorney general’s office has opposed the move, arguing that Gardner lacks the authority.
