IRVINGTON — James Johnson was only 18 when he shot and killed a 13-year-old boy. Now he will spend much of his adult life behind bars. In June 2009, Johnson, now 20, had been humiliated in an Irvington street fight, according to Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Michelle Miller. Seeking revenge, Miller said, he then fired a single shot that...
Photo collage of Justin Grisham, the 13-year-old Irvington boy who was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity.IRVINGTON — James Johnson was only 18 when he shot and killed a 13-year-old boy. Now he will spend much of his adult life behind bars.
In June 2009, Johnson, now 20, had been humiliated in an Irvington street fight, according to Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Michelle Miller.
Seeking revenge, Miller said, he then fired a single shot that killed Justin Grisham, only to learn later he had mistaken Grisham for the boy he wanted to kill.
"He snuck up on him and shot him in the back of the head," Miller said.
Today, Superior Court Judge Jerome St. John sentenced Johnson to 30 years in prison without parole. He had been found guilty in January of murder.
Speaking in court today, Grisham’s family alternated between forgiveness and anger, as the victim’s mother, sister, aunt and cousin spoke before sentencing.
"Everyone wants forgiveness. I’m still working on that," said Amarette Grisham, Justin’s mother, in a tearful address. "When I put him in the ground I had nothing to connect me to him but an ugly video of someone creeping up behind him and taking his life."
Grisham, breaking down in tears, said she was haunted by the closed-circuit video footage that captured the shooting.
James Johnson appears with his public defender John McMahon before judge Michael Petrolle for arraignment in the shooting death of Justin William Grisham at the Veterans Courthouse in Newark in this 2009 file photo."I don’t know how to do this anymore," she told the judge. "Somehow, as a parent I have to gain my humanity."
Julise Grisham, Justin’s sister, told the court she also had fought to find forgiveness.
"I can’t live with hate for the rest of my life," she said. "When I close my eyes I will always see him telling me ‘my soul is free now.’ "
Wearing green prison garb, Johnson stood in handcuffs throughout most of the proceeding. The Irvington resident did not have a long record and had little history of violent crime. He had pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence even as he stood for sentencing.
"I’d like to say sorry to the family and I’d like to say sorry to my family," Johnson told the court. "God as my witness, I didn’t do this, but things happen for a reason."
Previous coverage:
• Irvington man pleads not guilty to fatally shooting 13-year-old boy
• Innocent bystanders caught in N.J. deadly crossfire
• Police arrest Irvington man in shooting death of 13-year-old
• Irvington family grieves shooting death of 13-year-old boy
• Authorities continue to investigate fatal shooting of 13-year-old Irvington boy