Posted on 02/14/25
| News Source: FOX45
Baltimore, MD - Feb. 14, 2025 - A man has been released from prison after spending nearly 30 years there due to a wrongful conviction for a murder he didn't commit.
Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates and officials from the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project announced the vacatur of James Langhorne's conviction based on new evidence and new information that was learned after the trial at a press conference on Thursday.
Langhorne was arrested in Nov. 1996 for the murder of Lawrence Jones.
Bates said a combination of unreliable and conflicting witness testimonies, a trial witness who recanted, as well as the State's failure to disclose potential suspects and additional information collectively support the case for vacating Mr. Langhorne's conviction.
"My office has a duty to pursue justice in all forms, one of which is addressing past convictions that no longer have integrity. Based on interviews and a review of the evidence, it is clear that Mr. Langhorne was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for this offense," Bates said at a press conference on Thursday.
On behalf of the system that failed him, I am compelled to support this vacatur and address this injustice head-on so all parties can move forward.
On Nov. 20, 1993, around 2:45 a.m., Jones was walking to his home in the 1400 block of Bank St. when he was confronted by someone who shot and killed him.
Officials say there were no witnesses to the murder itself, and no physical evidence of value recovered at the scene.
The case went cold until July 1996, when a jailhouse informant who was hoping to avoid a 10-year sentence and two now-recanted identifications led to Langhorne's arrest on Nov. 15, 1996.
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Langhorne was convicted of first-degree murder among other related charges and sentenced to life plus 20 years of incarceration.
According to a press release, in Feb. 2019, Langhorne requested that the Conviction Integrity Program of the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City review his case.
After a five-year investigation, the State concluded that Langhorne was convicted of a crime he did not commit.
“The evidence used to convict Mr. Langhorne at trial was weak, and it completely eroded in the wake of the CIU’s investigation,” said Shawn Armbrust, Executive Director of MAIP, via a press release.
“We’re thrilled that the State’s Attorney has taken his obligation to correct this injustice so seriously, and we hope the lessons of this case will keep others from the same fate that Mr. Langhorne experienced.”
Langhorne thanked his friends and family at the press conference announcing his release on Thursday, who had supported him over the last 30 years.
"I want to thank my family, my friends who supported me through these 30 years. It was difficult, but they stood by me each and every day," Langhorne said Thursday.
"There is someone who is not here... my attorney for like 21 years. He never asked me for a dime, he believed in me. He convinced me to hold on... He's not an attorney, he's something else, close to an angel," Langhorne explained.
When asked if he was going to pursue a civil suit against the city for his time wrongfully served, he said that he would speak with his attorney.
"I woke up every morning these last few days, and didn't have to think of anything but brush my teeth, take a shower, and start my day," Langhorne said with a smile Thursday.
"[My dad] and his little dog Bella, we all just hang out, and have a great day."