St. Louis, Missouri - A St. Louis judge on Tuesday ruled that Lamar Johnson, a man who spent 28 years in prison for a murder he always insisted he didn't commit, should be released, marking the end of a fight against "manifest injustice."

As St. Louis Public Radio reported, the courtroom burst into applause Tuesday after Judge David Mason shared his decision.

Testimony from Greg Elking, who had initially identified Johnson for the murder, and James Howard, who ultimately confessed to it, absolved the 50-year-old in the 1994 slaying of Marcus Boyd.

"This combined testimony amounts to clear and convincing evidence that Lamar Johnson is innocent and did not commit the murder of Marcus Boyd either individually or acting with another," Mason wrote in his decision.

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Lamar Johnson has been in prison since he was convicted and sentenced to life for the murder of Marcus Boyd.

Later Tuesday, Johnson later was able to walk out of the courtroom a free man. Addressing a crowd outside the courthouse in downtown St. Louis, he said, "I want to thank, first off, people who had information about the case and came forward with the truth."

He continued, "All of the people who came out and supported me – this is overwhelming. I just thank everybody. Just thank you."

Lamar Johnson has always maintained his innocence and said he was with his girlfriend at the time Marcus Boyd was shot to death on his front porch by two masked men.

In a December 2022 hearing, Elking recanted his testimony that Johnson was one of the killers. James Howard, meanwhile, who is currently serving a life sentence for a different murder, said on the witness stand that he and a man named Phillip Campbell killed Boyd during a robbery.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who filed a motion seeking Johnson’s release, applauded the ruling. Her office investigated Johnson's case with help from the Innocence Project and became convinced that Johnson was telling the truth.

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She originally highlighted his wrongful conviction in 2019, but her efforts to free Johnson were stalled by the Missouri Supreme court, which ruled she didn't have the authority to vacate his sentence.

Then in 2021 the Missouri General Assembly passed legislation that gave prosecutors like Gardner a new pathway to set aside potential wrongful convictions.

Upon Johnson's release, Gardner put out a statement on Twitter, saying: "Today the courts righted a wrong – vacating the sentence of Mr. Lamar Johnson, following his wrongful conviction in 1995. Most importantly, we celebrate with Mr. Johnson and his family as he walks out of the courtroom as a free man."