Special Investigative Report By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on March 21, 2021 New Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd...

Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson was just eight days short of her 20th birthday when she met her death on a military base in Balad, Iraq. Private Johnson was not killed in a firefight with enemy combatants. She died on July 19, 2005, at the hands of a fellow soldier. Her death was not the result of friendly fire; it was a cold-blooded murder. This is her story.

Next to securing a full and complete pardon in 1976 for Clarence Norris (the last known surviving “Scottsboro Boy”), my work in solving Private Johnson’s murder has been the second most satisfying accomplishment in my 45-year legal career. When I read an article three years ago about Private Johnson’s tragic death, I immediately knew something was not right about the circumstances surrounding her death. To this day, no one has challenged the factual findings in my Private J

The military personnel involved in the cover-up of Army Private LaVena Johnson's 2005 murder never thought anyone would care enough about a 19-year-old low-ranking black soldier on a military base in Iraq to break this criminal case wide open. They were terribly wrong.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on January 31, 2016; Updated and Republished on February 24, 2018 Army...