Man Convicted of Murder Rejects New Plea, Gets Retrial

Thank you for reading Baltimore Witness.
Help us continue our mission into 2025 by donating to our end of year campaign.

Donate Now

A man incarcerated for a murder in 2007 will get a retrial, which was scheduled on Sept. 2 at Baltimore City Circuit Court. 

Donnell Johnson, 43, was found guilty of murder by a jury trial in 2008. He is charged with first and second-degree murder, handgun use in commission of a crime, and having a handgun on his person. 

On Thursday, the prosecution offered Johnson a new plea of life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder and 20 years for handgun use in committing a crime to be served concurrently. 

Johnson and his defense attorney, Megan Lewis, rejected the offer.

A retrial was scheduled for Feb. 7, 2022.

Johnson previously plead guilty to second-degree murder for a different incident in 1995.