U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond closed multiday testimony Tuesday in a federal hearing over how the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office handled the murder appeal of Dennis Johnson and said he will not call District Attorney Larry Krasner as a witness, The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW Newsradio reported.
Johnson was convicted in 2009 of killing Kenyatta Smith at a Strawberry Mansion convenience store. The hearing stems from a 2022 DAO filing that sided with Johnson’s bid to overturn the conviction; supervisors later said that filing contained significant errors, according to the Inquirer and KYW.
Assistant District Attorneys David Napiorski and Peter Andrews testified Tuesday that they and colleagues urged Krasner to refer the matter to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office amid what they described as an internal conflict, and that Krasner refused, the outlets reported. Those accounts are allegations presented in court and have not been proven. Diamond will decide whether the DAO may remain on the case; Krasner said a briefing schedule has been set and declined substantive comment while proceedings remain pending, NBC10 Philadelphia reported.
Sources: The Philadelphia Inquirer; KYW Newsradio; NBC10 Philadelphia.
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