SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s court of appeals reversed the murder conviction and death sentence of a Black man, saying his defense team failed to interview a key witness who saw a white man fleeing the victim’s home. Jesse Johnson was accused of stabbing Harriet Thompson, a 28-year-old Black nurse’s aide, to death in her Salem home in 1998. He has repeatedly claimed innocence and refused a plea deal. But the decision Wednesday doesn’t mean Johnson will be freed immediately, if at all. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum could appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.
Court reverses man’s murder conviction, death sentence
