Oregon
Oregon man who was sentenced to death is free 2 years after murder conviction was reversed
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A man sentenced to death for a 1998 murder is now free, two years after the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the conviction.
The Oregon Innocence Project on Wednesday accused the state of committing a “heinous injustice” in its handling of the case. The Marion County District Attorney’s office on Tuesday asked the Marion County Circuit Court to dismiss the case against Jesse Johnson, saying that “based upon the amount of time that has passed and the unavailability of critical evidence in this case, the state no longer believes that it can prove the defendant’s guilt.”
The court granted the motion, and late Tuesday, Johnson walked out of the county jail where he was held while prosecutors had mulled a retrial for the stabbing death of nurse’s aide Harriet “Sunny” Thompson, 28, in her Salem home. Johnson, who is Black, has repeatedly claimed innocence and refused a plea deal over the years.
Video shot outside the jail Tuesday showed Johnson, smiling and wearing gray sweats with white socks and black slides, walking next to a sheriff’s deputy who was pushing a cart with belongings inside.
“Oh yeah, oh yeah,” Johnson said as supporters hugged him.
While Johnson had been sentenced to death after he was convicted in 2004, former Gov. John Kitzhaber declared a moratorium on executions in 2011. Last year, then Gov. Kate Brown commuted all of the state’s 17 death sentences and ordered the dismantling of the state’s execution chamber
The Oregon Innocence Project, which represented Johnson during the appeal process, said racism played a role in Johnson’s wrongful imprisonment. The group said Johnson’s trial lawyers failed to interview a key witness who saw a white man fleeing the home of Thompson, who was Black.
“There were clear and unambiguous statements of racism by a detective involved in the case who discouraged a neighbor from sharing that she witnessed a white man running away from the scene on the night of the murder,” said Steve Wax, Oregon Innocence Project’s legal director.
That neighbor was Patricia Hubbard, but Johnson’s trial lawyers didn’t seek her out. Hubbard told investigators — who contacted her only after Johnson was convicted — she had seen a white man park his van in Thompson’s driveway around 3:45 a.m. March 20, 1998, and go inside.
Seconds later, Hubbard heard screaming coming from Thompson’s house, a thud and then silence. She said she then saw the white man run from the house.
Soon after the murder, another of Thompson’s neighbors had brought a Salem police detective to Hubbard’s house. When Hubbard began describing what she had seen, she alleges the detective said that a Black woman got murdered and a Black man is “going to pay for it.”
The Oregon Court of Appeals noted Johnson’s defense team failed to interview Hubbard when it reversed his murder conviction in October 2021.
The state resisted requests for additional DNA testing that could have revealed other suspects, Wax said. Johnson’s DNA wasn’t on any of the tested murder evidence.
“For 25 years, the State of Oregon has fought to defend their deeply flawed case against our former client, Jesse Johnson,” Wax said in a statement. “There can be no more heinous injustice imaginable than for Mr. Johnson to have heard a sentence of death pronounced against him all those years ago in Marion County and to then waste away for years on death row.”
In their request that the case be dismissed, prosecutors said no other suspect has been identified in Thompson’s murder “despite ongoing investigation.”
District Attorney Paige Clarkson and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Wax said Johnson is now a free man “but has been left with absolutely nothing by the State of Oregon.”
“He didn’t even get the paltry amount of gate money that someone would usually get when released because the dismissal of his case means he isn’t entitled to it,” Wax said.
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The Oregon State football team and head coach Trent Bray received great news on Saturday morning as outside linebacker Nikko Taylor announced he would return next season.
The 6-foot-5, 257-pounder was set to exhaust his eligibility after the 2024 campaign, but in the wake of the recent JUCO court ruling, he now has another season of eligibility and elected to return to Corvallis.
Previously, Taylor had declared for the NFL Draft; now, he’ll withdraw his name and return to OSU as the team’s most experienced and talented EDGE rusher.
He’s coming off a 2024 campaign in which he led the Beavers in tackles for loss (eight), sacks (2.5), forced fumbles (two), and fumbles recovered (two). He started all 12 games for the Beavers this past season…
With Taylor back in the fold, here’s a closer look at the Beavers’ scholarship numbers/breakdown at OLB
And stay up-to-date with everything Oregon State this offseason with our Offseason Movement Tracker
Oregon
Update: High wind warning issued for South Central Oregon Coast and Curry County Coast until early Sunday morning
On Saturday at 3:24 a.m. an updated high wind warning was issued by the National Weather Service valid from 10 p.m. until Sunday 5 a.m. for South Central Oregon Coast and Curry County Coast.
The weather service states, “South winds 35 to 45 mph with gusts to 60 mph possible on the beaches, except gusts up to 75 mph at the headlands.”
“Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles,” states the weather service. “Remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Watch for falling debris and tree limbs. Use caution if you must drive.”
Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.
The Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes will matchup in the Rose Bowl for a place in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi spoke on Friday about the challenges that this talented Ohio State team can cause and how his defense will approach playing the Buckeyes a second time.
The Oregon Ducks beat the Ohio State Buckeyes played in a thrilling 32-31 game at Autzen Stadium in October. Ducks defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi was asked how his defense will be approaching round two.
“The best thing we can do is strengthen the things we did well at and be curious about the things where we faulted, starting with me,” Lupoi said. “What can I do better as far as calling the game and putting our guys in the right situation…That might be manipulating a coverage, might be doing something a little different up front, or go back to what we did successfully and try to apply that again.”
The Buckeyes have one of the most talented offenses in the country with wide receivers Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and running backs Quinshon Judkins and Treveyon Henderson. Quarterback Will Howard had one of his best performances in their October matchup. Lupoi noted that practicing against the Oregon offense has helped prepare them for that.
“They (Ohio State) got great skill players. We see great skill players every day,” Lupoi said. “Thankfully facing our offense, we get to see first rounders every day ourself.”
Ohio State is coming off a 42-17 win over Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Oregon meanwhile hasn’t played since the Big Ten championship on December 7th. How have the Ducks dealt with this layoff?
“We had an extremely physical practice last week,” Lupoi said. “It’s how we practice, how we prepare, and we got top continue that trend if we want to be successful come Wednesday.”
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Lupoi has seen major improvement with the Oregon defense as the season has progressed. What has been a key to this?
“The confidence of the system…When you get into the 14th game of the season, you start to see that confidence,” Lupoi said. “Nikki (Defensive Back Nickko Reed) is a great example kid that. (Derrick) Harmon is a great example of that. . . . Some guys that play with a chip on their shoulder and a confidence and understanding the specifics of every call.”
Lupoi went into depth to talk about the improvement he has seen in Nikko Reed.
“Another great example of a guy trusting and believing the process. His improvement has been awesome. To see him, the way he competes day in and day out…The main thing that jumps out, he’s always been an extremely competitive individual,” Lupoi said. “His belief and knowledge within the scheme of how he is applying his technique, and then just his ability to cobra finish on a consistent basis. It’s been really cool to see his improvement.”
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