Convicted as a teen, man gets a chance at freedom

Associated Press

WILMINGTON, N.C.

Johnny Small was just 15 when police came to arrest him in 1988 – so young he assumed he was in trouble for a curfew violation.

Instead, police charged him with first-degree murder of a woman who owned a tropical-fish store – a place Small says he’d never even visited.

He was convicted and sentenced to life behind bars, mainly on the testimony of co-defendant – a friend who once lived with Small’s family. That man, David Bollinger, has since recanted. Bollinger says he testified only because prosecutors promised his charge would be dropped in exchange, and threatened the death penalty if he didn’t cooperate.

Now, at 43, Small has a chance at freedom. A hearing is scheduled to begin today for Small, who has always maintained his innocence. The judge could vacate the conviction, order a new trial or uphold the conviction.

Small “has spent his entire adult life and part of his childhood in prison for a crime he did not commit,” a defense motion says. Now, he’s grateful his one-time friend, Bollinger, came forward, even though it took decades, he told The Associated Press in an interview at New Hanover County Correctional Center.

“He’s doing what he thinks is right, what he knows is right,” said Small, adding that he hasn’t communicated with Bollinger since his former friend testified. “And I’m happy for that. But am I going to jump for joy? No. Because he should have.”

If Small is released, he’ll be in a world that he’s seen only on television. Before prison, he listened to music on cassette tapes. He’s never used a cellphone or Facebook. He has driven a car, but not legally, he said, breaking into one of his few smiles during the interview.

He’s made no big plans if he’s released other than seeking therapy, leaving Wilmington and getting a job.

Defense attorney Chris Mumma is hopeful Small will go free — no physical evidence tied him to the death of Pam Dreher at her fish shop — and she says in court filings there’s “absolutely no remaining evidence of guilt in the case.”

A record number of people falsely convicted of crimes – 149 – were exonerated in 2015, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. The registry is a project of the University of Michigan Law School and has documented more than 1,850 such cases in the U.S.

Bollinger called the N.C. Center on Actual Innocence in 2012, saying his testimony was false.

At trial, Bollinger testified that he had no deal with prosecutors. After the state Court of Appeals upheld Small’s conviction in 1991, the charge against Bollinger was dropped. Bollinger’s attorney declined to comment to The Associated Press.