The fight for Kendrick Johnson has hit another roadblock, but his family says they are far from finished.
A federal judge recently threw out a $1 billion lawsuit filed against several Georgia agencies and officials involved in the 2013 investigation of the 17-year-old’s death. While the ruling stopped the case in its tracks, U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty openly admitted her “concern about the inconsistencies” that still haunt the decade-old case.
Kendrick was found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat at Lowndes High School in Valdosta. While authorities claimed his death was a freak accident caused by “positional asphyxiation” while reaching for a shoe, his family has spent 13 years arguing that he was murdered and the truth was covered up.
A major part of the lawsuit centered on surveillance video from the school that was published by CNN shortly after the tragedy. An independent expert hired by the network concluded the footage “had been altered and that key footage was missing.” Despite this, the judge ruled that the family waited too long to sue over the video, pointing to a two-year statute of limitations. “The facts supporting Plaintiffs’ claims became apparent no later than November 21, 2013, when CNN published its article. Plaintiffs filed this action nearly ten years later,” the judge noted.
The case has been plagued by disturbing details that don’t add up. Official records from a 2022 reinvestigation suggested the opening in the gym mat was only 14 inches wide, yet Kendrick’s shoulders were measured at 19 inches. Additionally, early reports from the local coroner described a “very poor” investigative scene, claiming that “law enforcement did not cooperate with him, (Kendrick’s) body had been moved and the sealed body bag had been opened.”
The family’s independent autopsies also found evidence of blunt force trauma, and they recently shared new photos of a head deformity that they believe proves his skull was fractured. Further adding to the nightmare, Kendrick’s body was returned to his family with his brain and other internal organs missing.
Despite these red flags, the judge dismissed the claims against the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), citing “sovereign immunity,” and ruled that other defendants couldn’t be sued for procedural reasons. The Johnson family has already filed their notice of appeal, calling the decision “unprecedented and unconstitutional.”
Kendrick’s father, Kenneth Johnson, issued a stern warning following the dismissal. “If the message is not clear enough, let me make it clear as crystal right now, anyone, regardless of who you are, what position of power and influence you may hold, if you choose the join the murder cover-up scandal of my son Kendrick, you do so at your own peril,” he stated.
While the judge concluded that the “claims cannot proceed” due to legal technicalities, the Johnson family is now taking their battle to the appellate court, refusing to let the case rest until they get the answers they’ve been seeking for over a decade.
