By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer
Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho told the family of Doshmen Johnson, who is in prison for a murder that he might not have committed, he would review Johnson’s case.
The lone witness in the case and the family of Doshmen Johnson – who may be wrongfully in prison for the 2009 murder of Perry Steele – asked the Sacramento County District Attorney to review his case at a town hall on Feb. 27.
On April 14, 2008, at approximately 1 a.m, Steele, accompanied by another man and Franki Jones, was driving to a liquor store on Del Paso Boulevard when he was shot and killed, according to court records.
Latoya Harper-Johnson, Johnson’s girlfriend, told District Attorney Ho that her boyfriend didn’t deserve to spend a day in jail for Steele’s murder.
“They [Sacramento] failed him in so many ways, so we’re here to put a face to what happened,” Harper-Johnson said.
Harper-Johnson added that the family is grieving and suffering because they haven’t been heard. “I appreciated it when you said that you are here to listen,” Harper-Johnson said. “What are you going to do differently?”
Testimony by Franki Jones, who was 16 at the time of the murder, was crucial in sending Johnson to prison.
Jones, while in tears, told the district attorney that she was coerced by her mother and the police to identify Johnson as the shooter.
“I lied on the stand and when I say I lied, I didn’t see the person that I pointed at,” Jones told the district attorney.
Jones retold the story of law enforcement coming to her several times, leading her to identify Johnson as the suspect.
“They [police] showed me lineups of people and each time I told them I didn’t see them,” Jones said. “I just want you to know that it wasn’t Doshmen Johnson that murdered Perry Steele.”
District Attorney Ho told the family and an audience of about 50 people that his office has received requests to review Johnson’s case.
“I am aware that the Johnson case has come to our office,” Ho said. “In fact, I received a phone call from another community member asking about it.”
Johnson’s cousin, Shanell White, said her heart is broken for her cousin who has been in prison for 15 years and asked for clarification on what needs to happen for him to be freed.
Ho explained to Johnson’s family that the process requires pulling the case file and contacting all the witnesses and other parties involved.
“We have to go through the process,” Ho said. “Obviously, with a murder conviction, I can’t just do it without going through due diligence. I owe it to both sides to make sure that it was right.”
Ho says in every case, his office strives to achieve justice and the truth for both the person accused of a crime and the family of the victim.
“I always want to make sure that we get it right. The scales of justice need to get these matters right,” Ho said.
The district attorney said that if the wrong person is imprisoned for a crime, then the guilty person is walking free.
Ho added that his office has a post-conviction integrity unit that reviews cases of possible wrong convictions. He says every case has to be vetted, reviewed and all the evidence needs to be reexamined.
Ho says he will be in contact with the family once his office has thoroughly done so.
“We will continue to gather the information and evaluate it,” he said. “Justice is blind and justice never sleeps.”
This original version of this story incorrectly reported that Harper-Johnson was Doshmen Johnson’s wife. It has been updated with the correct information.