Man freed after nearly 30 years in prison for wrongful Baltimore murder conviction
After nearly 30 years behind bars, James Langhorne, 51, was exonerated and his murder conviction vacated. This decision followed an investigation that revealed he was wrongfully convicted in a 1993 Baltimore shooting.
Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates announced the decision alongside the Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) and Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP) on Thursday, citing new evidence discovered in the investigation led to Langhorne's release.
Bates' office says unreliable and conflicting witness testimony during the trial, combined with the state's failure to disclose potential suspects, was among the information supporting Langhorne's case for a vacated sentence.
Why was James Langhorne convicted?
Langhorne's conviction stemmed from an investigation into the murder of Lawrence Jones.
On Nov. 20, 1993, around 2:45 a.m. Jones was walking to his home in the 1400 block of Bank Street when he was confronted by an individual who pulled a handgun and shot him, the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office said.
The gunshot entered Jones' left eye, which suggested that he had fallen to his knees before being shot. After the shooting, the suspect fled.
Around 3:17 a.m. Baltimore Police responded to the scene, where they found Jones seriously injured. Jones was taken to shock trauma, where he later died.
Police said there were no witnesses to the murder, nor physical evidence of value at the scene. Investigators determined that the caliber of the gun used to shoot and kill Jones was either a .38 or a .357.
"The evidence used to convict Mr. Langhorne at trial was weak, and it completely eroded in the wake of the CIU's investigation," Shawn Armbrust, Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project said.
The state's attorney's office said the investigation "went cold" until July 1996, when it was reassigned. Information from a jailhouse informant who was attempting to avoid a 10-year sentence, and two identifications which were later recanted, led to Langhorne's arrest on Nov. 15, 1996.
Langhorne was convicted of first-degree murder, handgun use during the commission of a crime of violence, and related charges and sentenced to life plus 20 years of incarceration.
However, on February 19, Langhorne requested that the Conviction Integrity Program of the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City review the case - a process that took five years.
The state eventually concluded that Langhorne was wrongly convicted.
Maintaining innocence
Langhorne, who was arrested when he was 23 years old, has always maintained his innocence and petitioned the CIU in 2019 to investigate the case. The unit was created in 2015 when former State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby was at the helm.
After a five-year investigation, the unit determined Langhorne was innocent. At a court hearing on Monday, his sentence was vacated and he walked out of Roxbury Correctional Institution as a free man later that night.
"I worked 30 years to get to this point, so I'm going to enjoy every moment and put the anger behind me. If anger owns you, it owns you, so I don't want it to own me," Langhorne said at a press conference on Thursday.
Challenging investigation
The state's attorney's office noted how challenging the investigation was decades ago, and said by re-opening the case, it became even more challenging.
"Increase that by 150% of how of the difficulty it is to then go back and attempt to investigate that case present day," said Lauren Lipscomb, chief of the CIU.
Investigators say they re-interviewed witnesses, even some who moved out of state or out of the country, as well as examined a jailhouse informant's tip which led police to Langhorne. They said any corroboration to that tip had "evaporated."
Murder is still a cold case investigation
The murder of Lawrence Jones remains a cold case and is still being investigated.
Lipscomb said she told the victim's family about the investigation into Langhorne's murder in 2023 and initially they were angry.
"Mr. Langhorne is also a victim"
As the evidence mounted in Langhorne's favor, the state's attorney's office says they became more understanding and were upset Langhorne was also a victim, writing a victim impact letter for his court hearing earlier this week.
"They understood that they were angry almost 30 years ago. They now have decided they were in their victim impact letter that, yes, Mr. Langhorne is also a victim and should not have been found guilty," Bates said.
Langhorne is the proud father of two and a grandfather of five. He says he is now living with his father in Baltimore City. As for what is next for him, he says he is taking it day by day.
"Every day there's going to be a new experience. Every day we're going to take plenty of pictures. I'm going to love it. I'm going to live," Langhorne said.
