Philly DA Backtracks On Push To Overturn Murder Conviction

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has pulled a sharp U-turn in a long-running murder case, telling a federal judge it no longer backs its own earlier recommendation to overturn Dennis Johnson’s 2007 conviction. The new position, filed this month by senior prosecutors, accuses a prior filing of mischaracterizing witness testimony and now argues the conviction should stand.

In a motion filed June 5, the Law Division told the court, “The Commonwealth respectfully requests leave to withdraw its prior response and apologizes to the Court for the errors,” per CourtListener. The filing says undersigned counsel discovered the office’s earlier response “contained material misstatements” about witness testimony and concluded that relief on Johnson’s claim was not warranted.

As reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, the new filing was signed by David Napiorski, Steven Wildberger, Peter Andrews and Katherine Ernst, and it highlights errors in a 2022 request submitted by assistant ADA Jaclyn Mason. Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski had recommended tossing Johnson’s conviction after that earlier filing, and U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond has an evidentiary hearing on the calendar for July to hear eyewitness testimony. Nilam Sanghvi of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project said she and her colleagues will continue advocating for Johnson’s freedom.

According to the court filing, the case stems from the Aug. 17, 2007, fatal shooting of Kenyatta Smith outside a corner store near 30th Street and Lehigh Avenue in North Philadelphia. The motion walks through trial transcripts and notes that store clerk Ozzie Clark “repeatedly testified that he saw Johnson’s face” and that Clark said he had known Johnson “for at least five or six years,” undercutting arguments that the identification was nonvisual.

Legal fallout

The reversal lands against a backdrop of federal scrutiny of the district attorney’s office. Earlier this year, judges recommended barring a senior prosecutor from the region’s federal courts after finding he made misleading or dishonest statements in post-conviction litigation, an episode and its blowback detailed by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

What’s next

Judge Diamond can still hold the July evidentiary hearing to test eyewitness accounts, or he could use the proceeding to dig into how two conflicting positions emerged from the same office. For now, Johnson remains in custody and his attorneys say they will press their case, with the outcome likely to influence how the city’s conviction-review work is perceived.

Whichever route the court takes, the about-face has raised fresh questions about review practices inside the Philadelphia DA’s Office. Local lawyers and community advocates say they will be watching the July proceedings closely for any sign that the office’s internal checks have changed.