The convicted murderers
These photos taken by police in May of 1999 show Justly Johnson and Kendrick Scott at the Detroit Police Homicide Section where they were interrogated and later charged. Both men were convicted of murder, but many questions linger.
Posted: 04/20/2011
Justly Johnson was 24 years old when he was arrested for the murder of Lisa Kindred and unless he is successful on appeal, he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Johnson was convicted primarily on the testimony of two witnesses, Antonio Burnette and Raymond Jackson. Both witnesses repeatedly contradicted themselves and have since recanted their stories. Police never produced any witnesses to put Johnson at the murder scene around the time the fatal shot was fired.
Johnson has a prior conviction for dealing drugs in 1977. When I met with him in prison, Johnson admitted he indeed had been selling crack cocaine. He said he had straightened himself out by the time of the Kindred murder. Johnson said he had a job and was living in an apartment with his girlfriend. When police searched that apartment the day after the murder they found no drugs, no guns, and no evidence relating to the murder of Lisa Kindred. They also searched Justly Johnson’s mother’s house and came up empty handed.
Johnson’s story has been consistent since the day he was arrested.
Kendrick Scott, the second man serving life with no parole for Lisa Kindred’s murder was 20 years old at the time of the killing. He was convicted primarily on the testimony of the same two witnesses.
But there is more circumstantial evidence pointing to Scott’s involvement. He was placed at the scene by his own statement and statements of other witnesses just before and right after the murder happened.
In addition, Scott made some suspicious comments to several people at the crime scene, according to retired homicide detective Mike Carlisle. He told his girlfriend just before the shooting that he saw two men outside and one of them had a rifle. His girlfriend told police she looked outside and saw the men but did not see a gun. After the murder, Scott told a number of people he had seen two men running down an alley and one of them had a rifle. Carlisle told Action News Investigators this is classic behavior of someone trying to set up an alibi and divert attention from himself.
The Michigan Innocence Project has been contacted by Kendrick Scott but has not taken on his case.
Kendrick Scott Police Statement
Here is the statement of the witness who Scott told about the men with a rifle:
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Retired Cop: 'Conviction is appalling'
During his 22 years as a Detroit Cop, Mike Carlisle had a reputation as a no- nonsense guy who got the job done. During his last 10 years, he tackled some of Detroit's most difficult murder cases.
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Muddy footprint at crime scene
Will Kindred says he was just walking out of his brother-in-law’s house when he heard a loud noise like a car door slamming and saw his wife’s van speeding down the street.
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Husband's violent past
Will Kindred was well known to Roseville Police for taking his rage out on his wife and children. Public records show police were called to Kindred's home 17 times in four years for domestic issues. Some of the incidents were disturbingly violent.
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Police searches find 'dry holes'
In the hours and days following the Kindred murder, Detroit Police searched five homes and an apartment looking for evidence that would connect Justly Johnson and Kendrick Scott to the killing. Police records show they found nothing.
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Where's Mike? Possible alibi witness
Justly Johnson, convicted in the murder of Lisa Kindred, says there is a man who can vouch for his innocence but he doesn’t know his last name, or where to find him.
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Judge: 'Witnesses were credible'
Judge Prentis Edwards found Justly Johnson guilty after a two-day trial. There was no jury. He acknowledged there were no eyewitnesses and there was only circumstantial evidence.
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The accusers
Shortly after the murder of Lisa Kindred, Detroit Police had two witnesses who fingered Justly Johnson and Kendrick Scott as the killers. But their stories were not consistent. They even disagreed on which of the two men actually pulled the trigger.
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What Lisa Kindred said to her sister
According to the affidavits, Lisa Kindred told Jodi Gonterman that if anything ever happened to her she should suspect her husband Will Kindred. According to the affidavits, from people who talked to Kindred's sister, Lisa also told her sister that if anything happened to her, she wanted Gonterman to have custody of her kids.
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Justly Johnson speaks from prison
For 12 years, Justly Johnson has been fighting to get his story out. Now you can hear, in Johnson’s own words, why he thinks he deserves a shot at freedom. After a couple months of studying this murder case, I decided it was time for a face-to-face meeting with Justly Johnson.
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The shell casing
The only significant piece of physical evidence left behind by the killer of Lisa Kindred is the casing from the small caliber bullet that pierced her heart.
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The convicted murderers
Justly Johnson was 24 years old when he was arrested for the murder of Lisa Kindred and unless he is successful on appeal, he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
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Mom turned to church to save marriage
With all of the questions surrounding the murder of Lisa Kindred, one thing is undisputed; she and her husband had a very stormy on-again, off-again relationship.
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The Innocence Projects
When Justly Johnson was convicted in 2000, he immediately started working to get a new trial. Johnson contacted Innocence Projects in every state. At that time, Michigan had only one Innocence Project at Cooley Law School in Lansing and they only accepted cases with DNA evidence.
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New witness in Mother's Day Murder?
Lawyers for the Michigan Innocence Clinic are ramping up efforts to free a man doing life in prison for a murder he says he didn't commit.
