James Langhorne was arrested in 1996 for the murder of Lawrence Jones in the 1400 block of Bank Street
BALTIMORE, MD -February 13, 2025- Today, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates and the Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) of the State’s Attorney’s Office, in addition to the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, announced the vacatur of James Langhorne’s conviction after nearly 30 years of incarceration based on new evidence and new information learned after trial.
“My office has a duty to pursue justice in all its forms, one of which is addressing past convictions that no longer have integrity. Based on interviews and a review of the evidence, it is clear that Mr. Langhorne was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for this offense,” said State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates. “On behalf of the system that failed him, I am compelled to support this vacatur and address this injustice head-on so all parties can move forward. I want to thank CIU Chief Lauren Lipscomb and her team for their detailed work on this case and for pursuing justice not only for Mr. Langhorne but also for the Jones family, who deserve to have the real perpetrator of their loved one’s death held accountable.”
A combination of unreliable and conflicting witness testimonies, a trial witness who recanted, as well as the State’s failure to disclose potential suspects and additional information collectively support the case for vacating Mr. Langhorne’s conviction.
“The evidence used to convict Mr. Langhorne at trial was weak, and it completely eroded in the wake of the CIU’s investigation,” said Shawn Armbrust, Executive Director of MAIP. “Mr. Langhorne was represented at the vacatur hearing by MAIP Staff Attorney Maggie Abernethy and Maryland attorney Daniel Wright, who first presented the case to the CIU. “We’re thrilled that the State’s Attorney has taken his obligation to correct this injustice so seriously, and we hope the lessons of this case will keep others from the same fate that Mr. Langhorne experienced.”
On November 20, 1993, around 2:45 a.m., Lawrence Jones was walking to his residence located in the 1400 block of Bank Street when he was confronted by an individual who produced a handgun and shot him. The shot entered the victim’s left eye with a downward trajectory, indicating that he had likely fallen to his knees before being shot. The shooter subsequently fled the location. At 3:17 a.m., Baltimore Police responded to the scene. Though gravely injured, the victim was still alive and was transported by medics to Shock Trauma Hospital. Later that night, after the arrival of the victim’s family, Mr. Jones succumbed to his injuries. There were no witnesses to the murder itself, and officers recovered no physical evidence of value at the scene. Investigators later determined the caliber of the gun used to kill the victim to be either a .38 or .357. The investigation into the case ultimately went cold until July 1996, when it was reassigned. Information from a jailhouse informant who was hoping to avoid a 10-year sentence and two now-recanted identifications led to Mr. Langhorne’s arrest on November 15, 1996. After a jury trial, Mr. 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.
In February 2019, Mr. Langhorne requested that the Conviction Integrity Program of the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City review this case. After an extensive, five-year investigation, including dozens of witness interviews, comprehensive analyses of the crime scene, and a review of all available records and related materials, the State concluded that Mr. Langhorne was convicted of a crime he did not commit.