Lorenzo Montoya, convicted of murder at age 15, released after legal challenge
By Phil Tenser, Marc Stewart
June 16, 2014
After 13 years, a man previously convicted of murder as a teenager had his charge changed and was released from prison Monday.
Lorenzo Montoya was originally convicted of the first-degree murder of teacher Emily Johnson in 2000, when he was 15-years-old. Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney’s Office, said Montoya returned to court for a motion that he had ineffective council at the time of his trial.
Montoya, now 29, is now represented by lawyers from the Center for Juvenile Justice, a non-profit organization. According to that group, their argument also presented new DNA evidence that showed Montoya did not commit the murder.
