Seeing her there, cradling her crossword puzzle, you’d never guess that 80-year-old retired teacher Jenny Schrabeen had a prison pen pal — especially since he wasn’t charged with murder.
Twenty-five years ago, a deacon at Shrabain Church outside St. Louis handed her a letter from a prisoner who had written the diocese in hopes someone would reply. That prisoner was Lamar Johnson, a man serving a life sentence in a Missouri prison.
Steve Hartmann / On the Road
“He was in prison for murder,” Sharabin said. “I’ve been accused of being naive before, and that’s okay. I wasn’t worried. He wouldn’t come get me.”
The two struck up a quick friendship and corresponded continually over the next twenty years. Shrabin says she could tell, from the start, that there was no way Johnson could have committed murder.
Twenty-eight years later, Missouri has confirmed its hunch.
After the Midwest Innocence Project intervened and the real killer confessed, Johnson was acquitted He was released from prison at the age of 49.
Christian Guden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, Pool
He spent the next few weeks doing all the things he could not do in prison, including traveling to see one of his close friends for the first time.
Johnson goes to Sharabane’s house for the first time, where she gives him a warm welcome. She gives him a ride, a box of his favorite cereal and one last letter.
Steve Hartmann / On the Road
Johnson said the greatest gift was the confidence his friend instilled in him.
Johnson said, “Especially when someone is innocent, you want someone to believe in you. Because when you have people who believe in you and won’t give up on you, it makes it harder for you to give up on yourself.” Adding that it was Sharabin’s faith that helped him overcome nearly 30 years of injustice.
He said it now inspires him to serve a life of friendship.
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Steve Hartman
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