Charges officially dropped against Chicago man wrongfully convicted in 1996 murder

CHICAGO - Robert Johnson, who served nearly 29 years for a murder he did not commit, had all charges dropped against him Tuesday in Cook County court.

Johnson’s convictions for first-degree murder, armed robbery and home invasion were vacated on Feb. 19 by Judge Joanne Rosado.

The backstory:

Johnson was arrested at 16-years-old in connection with the 1996 murder of Eddie Binion. He has spent the last nearly 29 years fighting his conviction.

During the trial, no physical evidence or eyewitnesses tied Johnson to the crime, according to The Exoneration Project.

The victim’s girlfriend and sister both testified that Johnson was not one of the perpetrators. However, he was convicted based on testimony from a juvenile co-defendant who received a plea deal in exchange for false testimony.

That co-defendant has since identified the true perpetrator and alleged that police forced him to falsely implicate Johnson.

Johnson’s legal team presented the recantation, along with testimony from another co-defendant who corroborated the juvenile’s claims.

After hearing the testimony, Rosado deemed the witnesses credible and granted Johnson post-conviction relief.

What they're saying:

"I didn’t think this day was going to happen. They had me in that cage for 28 years and 10 months, for something I had nothing to do with," Johnson said in February, following his release from Cook County Jail.

Robert Johnson

Since his conviction was vacated, Johnson has been learning how to drive and use a smartphone and computers.

"The air is so much different," Johnson said in March. "In prison. It’s suffocating, oppressive. It's dehumanizing. It smells like misery and death. Out here, in the free world, it doesn’t smell that way."

What's next:

Attorneys for Johnson plan to file for a Certificate of Innocence, which would affirm Johnson's innocence and allow him to seek compensation from the state for damages.