Man Acquitted in Alabama School Fire
A black militant’s son was found innocent Friday on charges he burned down an Alabama school last year after the white principal tried to bar interracial dating at the spring prom.
Christopher Lynn Johnson, 25, of Ashland, Ala., was acquitted by a jury of eight whites and four blacks who reached a verdict after less than four hours of deliberation.
Johnson had been facing up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines for arson, along with a maximum of 10 years in jail and another $250,000 in fines for the illegal possession of an explosive device.
The poultry plant worker, whose father led protests against white school authorities in Wedowee, Ala., in 1994, was accused of the arson fire that razed the Randolph County High School building on Aug. 6 of that year.
The blaze followed months of racial turmoil after high school principal Hulond Humphries said he would cancel the prom if biracial couples planned to attend.
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