Current Cases We're Supporting

Joseph L. Johnson

Inmate #6223751 | Iowa Department of Corrections

The Basics:

• Age at conviction: 19 years old

• Years served: Almost 20 years

• Sentence: Life without parole

• Conviction: 1st Degree Murder (premeditated)

• The problem: No physical evidence. No reliable eyewitness. No murder weapon. Tunnel vision investigation. Trial misconduct.

What Happened:

Cedar Falls, Iowa. A house party. A racial slur. A fatal stabbing.

Joseph was 19 years old. He was at the party. He was Black. A white teenager was killed.

Joseph was convicted of 1st Degree Murder based on:

• Being at the scene

• A "confidential informant" who police had used months earlier to falsely accuse Joseph of other crimes (he was later cleared)

• The same investigator who falsely accused him before led this investigation

• No DNA linking Joseph to the victim

• No reliable eyewitness to the stabbing

• No murder weapon ever found

• Evidence pointing to another person—ignored

Joseph was sentenced to life without parole.

Not as an accessory. Not with co-defendants. As the sole person responsible—despite evidence pointing elsewhere.

Why This Case Matters:

This is what wrongful conviction looks like:

• Tunnel vision: Investigator with prior false accusations against Joseph led this case

• Racial bias: Black teenager at party where white teenager killed = automatic suspect

• Ignored evidence: Alternative suspects dismissed

• Prosecutorial misconduct: Improper jury instructions that lessened burden of proof

• No physical evidence: No DNA, no weapon, no reliable witnesses

Joseph has been fighting for 20 years to prove what should have been proven at trial: he didn't do this.

What He's Done Inside:

Almost 20 years. Life without parole. Still fighting.

Joseph is representing himself in appeals because:

• Midwestern Innocence Project won't take his case (doesn't meet their criteria because he was convicted as the sole perpetrator, not an accessory)

• Most innocence organizations use the same criteria—leaving actually innocent people with no help

Current appeal based on:

1. New evidence / alternative suspect

2. Ineffective trial counsel

3. Improper jury instructions

He's doing the legal work himself. From inside. With life without parole hanging over him.

That's not giving up. That's refusing to be disposable.

What He Needs:

Legal support:

• Pro bono attorneys who handle wrongful conviction cases

• Innocence organizations willing to look beyond narrow criteria

• Investigators who can examine the alternative suspect evidence

Public pressure:

• Contact Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds: governor.iowa.gov/contact

• Contact Iowa Board of Parole: 515-725-5757

• Sign the petition: [link to petition]

Direct support:

• Write to Joseph (letters matter—they prove people see him)

• Support his wife Sara (she's been fighting alongside him for years)

• Share his story

Contact Information:

Joseph L. Johnson #6223751
[Prison address]

Via his wife Sara:
Sara Johnson
P.O. Box 188
Blairstown, IA 52209
Email: sara.carte1978@gmail.com
Phone: 319-550-2889

In Joseph's Own Words:

"My humanity must shine, even through the darkness of the criminal justice system. I am more than inmate #6223751... I am a God fearing man... a loving husband and step-father of four... a brother, uncle and friend."

"Justice has been delayed for almost 20 years. Those who know and understand the criminal justice system also know that if justice is so much as delayed, then it has been denied."

"Any and all help is beyond welcomed, needed and appreciated."