John,

Morton Johnson has spent more than half his life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. In fact, DNA evidence excluded him before his trial even began — but he was still wrongly convicted when he was just 20 alongside his cousin, Sam Grasty, and their friend Derrick Chappell.

The young men — who were all between the ages of 15 and 20 at the time of the crime — were charged for the murder of 70-year-old Henrietta Nickens in Chester, Pennsylvania despite no physical evidence tying them to the crime. They have missed out on the entirety of their young adulthood as a result of grave miscarriages of justice.

Now, 22 years later, Morton is still fighting for his freedom. The Innocence Project filed a motion to vacate his convictions for the 1997 crime last year. A hearing on new evidence in his case began on July 25, 2023, and will continue this month.

Please take a moment to read more about Morton’s case and then spread the news about his story with your friends online. [innocenceproject.org/news/morton-johnson-has-spent-more-than-half-his-life-in-prison-for-a-crime-new-dna-evidence-shows-he-didnt-commit/]

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Ms. Nickens was found dead in her home, the obvious victim of a rape and robbery. Unable to solve the case, detectives turned their investigation to 20-year-old Sam, Morton’s cousin, who had dated Ms. Nickens’ granddaughter and lived nearby. Though Morton lived several miles away, he would often visit Sam along with Derrick and another friend Richard McElwee. Soon, all four men became the focus of the investigation.

No physical evidence connected any of them to the murder, but during a coercive interrogation, detectives used intimidation and leading questions to pressure then-15-year-old Richard, who has an intellectual disability, into implicating himself and his friends in the crime.

Richard initially maintained his innocence after hours of questioning, but he was facing significant prison time for unrelated drug charges and also a life sentence if convicted for Ms. Nickens’ murder. He ultimately gave police a statement that he acted as a lookout. In exchange for his testimony implicating Morton, Sam, and Derrick, he received a shortened sentence. Although the details and time of the crime in his statement did not match the facts, law enforcement and prosecutors built their case around the statement.

Morton, Sam, and Derrick were all sentenced to life in prison, but they’ve never given up hope.

The Innocence Project — along with Centurion and the Pennsylvania Innocence Project who represent Sam and Derrick, respectively — have been fighting to free the men and secured new, advanced DNA testing of crime scene evidence. The testing was completed in 2022 and found that semen from the victim’s body, DNA from a stain on a green XXXL jacket that was left at the crime scene during the crime, and a semen stain on her blood-stained bedding all matched one unknown man and excluded Morton, Sam, and Derrick.

As the fight for justice continues, please take some time today to read more about Morton’s story and share the news of his care on social media. [innocenceproject.org/news/morton-johnson-has-spent-more-than-half-his-life-in-prison-for-a-crime-new-dna-evidence-shows-he-didnt-commit/]

“We’re not asking a lot, we’re just asking for justice,” Morton said.

Thank you for your support,

— The Innocence Project Team



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The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the organization is now an independent nonprofit. Our work is guided by science and grounded in anti-racism.

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