A wrongfully convicted man was freed from a Missouri prison after nearly three decades and met his pen pal for the first time.
Lamar
Johnson was exonerated after 28 years in prison and met up with
80-year-old Ginny Schrappen, his long-time pen pal, when he was
released.
- Johnson was wrongfully convicted of murder and has been in jail since he was 21.
- 25
years ago, he wrote to a church outside of St. Louis, and the deacon
there gave his letter to Schrappen, a teacher and parishioner.
- Schrappen
and Johnson struck up a friendship that lasted 20-plus years, and
Schrappen believed Johnson was innocent from talking with him.
- The
Midwest Innocence Project got involved, and the real killer confessed.
Johnson was exonerated and released from jail at 49 years old.
- He went to Schrappen's house to meet his pen pal and thanked her for her confidence in him all these years.
