A Mississippi father traveled to Tennessee on Thursday for a Nashville court hearing, outside which he blamed Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn for creating the circumstances that preceded the murder of Lauren Johansen, his 22-year-old daughter.
Bricen Rivers stands accused of killing Lauren Johansen after he was released from a Nashville jail on a $250,000 bond, which Blackburn (pictured above) had just reduced from $350,000. Rivers was in jail after his December 2023 arrest for the alleged kidnapping and beating of Lauren Johansen that occurred while the two visited Nashville.
In a Thursday court hearing before a panel of judges seeking to understand what preceded Lauren Johansen’s death, WSMV 4 reported the judges learned the company that agreed to pay Rivers’ bond never saw the court document. The alleged killer was able to falsely obtain permission to leave the state, including through extending the allowed areas on his ankle monitor.
When Rivers returned to Nashville, the outlet reported his bail bondsman replaced the ankle monitor and advised him against leaving Davidson County, but that Rivers nonetheless returned to Mississippi and allegedly claimed the life of Lauren Johansen.
Lance Johansen acknowledged failures on behalf of multiple parties in remarks made to WSMV 4 on Thursday but ultimately placed the majority of the blame on Blackburn.
“I think if you look at the whole big picture here… the bond division is not working right, the jail is not working right, the bond company is not working right, and it all starts at the top,” said Lance Johansen.
He stated, “I would just say that Judge Blackburn is responsible for what happened.”
Lance Johansen’s criticisms of the judge come after Nashville Banner reported last month that Blackburn, who has held office since 1996, is in her mid-70s and suffered a stroke in 2021.
The outlet reported Blackburn while speaking to a jury assembled for a murder trial, “stumbled over her words,” was “repeating or restarting words,” and fumbled other words entirely, apparently using the wrong word for “process” and referring to a defense attorney by the wrong name.
Blackburn later reportedly appeared to fall asleep while at the bench, and the outlet claimed she “seemed confused, tongue-tied or asleep” on each of the days it monitored the court’s proceedings.
Two months before the murder of Lauren Johansen, the same outlet reported a collection of Nashville defense attorneys filed sealed motions that questioned Blackburn’s competence to preside over the court.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
