Rising from the ashes: The conviction and redemption of Walter Lomax

Walter Lomax spent 39 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. When Lomax was only 20 years old and illiterate, he was framed by the Baltimore City police department for a series of robberies and murders. He was sentenced to life in prison.

During his incarceration, Lomax completed his education, founded victims advocacy organizations and worked to free himself. He has now dedicated himself to work and speak on behalf of wrongly convicted inmates.

Maryland is ranked among the top eight states that had the most exonerations in 2019, but that doesn’t mean that the road to exoneration is easy. The road to exoneration is usually paved with hardships and hard work, and Walter Lomax, now a respected victims advocate, is proof of that.

Lomax grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where he moved shortly after the Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. Lomax’s parents wanted him and his brother to attend schools that were already taking steps to desegregate public schools, and they found this in Maryland. Although he attended progressive schools that were encouraging integration, they were severely underfunded compared to other schools in the district.

Lomax did not grow up with many racial tensions or many discussions about race. The few Europeans that attended Lomax’s school never hinted at any racial hostility, and Lomax’s father, who served in the military, never had the “talk” with his sons about the long history of police violence and bias aimed towards Black people.

Lomax’s father thought that he was protecting his sons by sheltering them from these distressing conversations about race. However, Lomax experienced the horrors of being Black in America head-on when his first encounter with police was one that changed his life forever.

The Crime

“In 1967, when I was 20 years old, Baltimore City police officers framed me for a murder I didn’t commit,” Lomax said. “Police were under pressure to solve a series of fatal robberies and decided to target me without any evidence.

“After being put in multiple lineups, eventually some eyewitnesses identified me as the gunman in one of the crimes,” he said. “The police hid the fact that several eyewitnesses had identified other lineup members. An all-white jury convicted me, and I was sentenced to life in prison.”

On Dec. 2, 1967, a black suspect robbed the Giles Food Market in Baltimore, Maryland. The suspect had purchased two bags of groceries, one hand in each bag, and left the store before returning shortly after. Upon his return, the suspect shot and killed the grocery store manager, Robert Brewer, and robbed the cashiers before fleeing from police on foot.

The Framing/ Botched Investigation

On Dec. 12, 1967, Lomax was informed of an active warrant for his arrest made by the Baltimore City police department. He then made his way to the police department voluntarily, where he was placed in a mass line- up with his brother, Michael, who was arrested later that day for unpaid child support.

Witnesses of the Giles Food Market robbery placed Walter Lomax at the scene, while several other witnesses said he was innocent.

Despite these witnesses that said Lomax was not the robber, Lomax was charged with the murder- robbery of the Giles Food Market, as well as two other murder- robberies, taking place at the Stag Bar and Joe’s Tap Room.

Lomax presented evidence of his alibis for the crimes he had been accused of. He also presented evidence that the weeks before the Giles Food Market robbery, he was badly injured and had to be treated at the hospital. The day of the Giles Food Market robbery, Lomax was getting his right hand wrapped in fresh plaster that would make it impossible for him to have full mobility.

Between the robberies, Lomax had been in and out of the hospital for treatment to his hand. The suspect for the robbery was reported to have been handing staff his groceries, carrying a bag of groceries in each hand, shooting the gun with his right hand, and witnesses reported there was nothing unusual about the suspect’s hands. Still, Lomax was sentenced to life in prison.

Creating Change While in Prison

Lomax did not let his wrongful conviction get the best of him. Despite being illiterate when he entered prison, he spent his sentence earning a college degree, penning and publishing books of poetry, and becoming editor of the prison newsletter. Lomax also participated in the Work Release Program, earning an “Employee of the Month” commendation. He completed 54 home visits to care for his father, and worked with other inmates to help end the requirement for the governor to approve parole for all inmates serving life sentences, by presenting a bill to the Maryland legislature.

Creating Change After Prison/ Working with Maryland Legislature

After being freed from prison in 2006 with 39 years of time served, Lomax did not stop fighting. In 2014, Lomax was granted a writ of actual innocence by the Baltimore City Circuit Court with the help of the state’s attorney.

Although, under Maryland law, this writ of actual innocence made him eligible for compensation for his wrongful imprisonment, the Board of Public Works denied him his pay.

In October 2020, Lomax was finally awarded financial compensation of $3 million, according to the law firm that represented Lomax.

(https://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/PressReleasesAnnouncements/Crowell-Moring-Client-Walter-Lomax-Compensated-3-Million-for-39-Years-of-Wrongful-Incarceration) In addition to legal action, the Board of Public Works also received pressure from media stories and lawmakers [to compensate five exonerees in summer of 2019].

“Maryland needs an effective exoneree compensation law to right the wrongs of the past,” Lomax said. “It is important to create this financial incentive for reforms that prevent misconduct and other causes of wrongful conviction.”

Now, Lomax is fighting for a just and effective exoneree compensation law. The Maryland legislature was going to pass a bill, named after Lomax, to fix compensation, but on the voting day, Senators Bob Cassilly and Justin Ready attempted to kill the bill.

Lomax says, “Both senators were at the public hearing and listened to exonerees share their stories. Neither of them raised concerns at that time, or in the weeks that followed.”

Despite no opposition to the bill at public hearings, and the approval of The House and bipartisan support, Cassilly and Ready attempted a filibuster on voting day, which was also the last day of the session, and used procedural delays to kill the bill when the fillibuster fell through.

Lomax is not letting this deter him from his objective, and will continue to fight for just laws for those who have been exonerated.

These 8 States Had the Most Exonerations in 2019 (innocenceproject.org)