Help Jesse Johnson Oregon Death Row Exoneree
Donation protected
On Tuesday September 5th 2023 Jesse Johnson was released after 25 years in custody. His case was dismissed and he is now in the process of establishing a whole life.
Jesse was not provided with any funds upon his release. This fundraiser was set up by his friends and legal team in order to help Jesse as he navigates life out of custody.
Contributions will be used for clothing, housing, and other essentials as he sets up a new life as a free man.
Jesse's attorney Rich Wolf is named as the beneficiary, as funds are deposited into his attorney trust account and distributed to Jesse as requested/as needed.
"Jesse Johnson walked out of the Marion County Jail on Tuesday as a free man, after 25 years behind bars in Oregon.
In 2004, Johnson was convicted of murdering 28-year-old Harriet Thompson in a Salem apartment — a crime that he denied committing. A jury then sentenced him to death, and Johnson lived on death row at the Oregon State Penitentiary until 2021, when his case was overturned by the Oregon Court of Appeals. Prosecutors quietly dismissed the case against him on Tuesday, acknowledging evidence in the case was too thin to retry the 62-year-old.
“Based on the amount of time that has passed and the unavailability of critical evidence in this case, the state no longer believes that it can prove the defendant’s guilt to twelve jurors beyond a reasonable doubt,” deputy district attorneys Katie Suver and Matt Kemmy wrote in a motion to dismiss the case. A judge approved the motion Tuesday afternoon.
Throughout his decadeslong legal saga, Johnson has insisted upon his innocence and turned down multiple plea deals that would have allowed him to serve less time than the 25 years he spent in custody if he admitted to Thompson’s murder.
Johnson walked out of the jail around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday wearing a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants, carrying all of his life’s possessions in three small cardboard boxes. On top of one of those boxes was a hand-drawn chess board — a hobby Johnson picked up during his long incarceration.
“I’m happy and excited and ready for the next phase now. Been a lot of years for something I didn’t do,” Johnson said." - Ryan Haas, OPB
Organizer and beneficiary
James Comstock
Organizer
Tigard, OR
Richard Wolf
Beneficiary
