When Gary Black gets his second go-round in the criminal justice system, it may be a man who cannot defend himself who is on trial.
Motions filed in Jasper County Circuit Court for the retrial of Black indicate his lawyers, public defenders from the state's capital offenses unit, plan to bring the background of the late Jason Johnson, a former MSSC student athlete, into question.
Black's attorney have filed discovery motions asking for Mr. Johnson's police record, his MSSC student records, and his employment records. Those motions will be decided along with a request for a change of venue during a 1 p.m. Aug. 19 hearing, according to court records.
Black was given his second chance after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that more effort should have been made to impeach the eyewitnesses who presented the evidence that indicated Black had planned the murder. The appellate court sent the case back to Jasper County for retrial.
Black would not have been in this position except for an earlier Supreme Court ruling that delayed his execution. A Jasper County jury gave Black the death penalty after finding him guilty in the racially-motivated killing of Mr. Johnson.
Black's girlfriend said she thought Johnson made a pass at her in a convenience store. Black and his girlfriend were both white, while Johnson was black.
You can find a more thorough account of the case in the Aug. 18, 2004, Turner Report at the following link:
http://rturner229.blogspot.com/2004/08/it-wasnt-first-time-jason-johnson-had.html
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