Tom Johnson ’70, Former Hennepin County Attorney, Dies at 75
Tom Johnson ’70, who served as Hennepin County Attorney from 1979 to 1991, died June 8 at his home in Minneapolis after a six-year battle with advanced prostate cancer. He was 75.
Raised on a farm in northern Minnesota, Johnson graduated from Duluth Central High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in physics at the University of Minnesota before enrolling at Minnesota Law. In 1972, he worked on the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern, and the following year he ran successfully for a seat on the Minneapolis City Council, where he served for four years.
Following Johnson’s 12-year term as Hennepin County Attorney, his last post as an elected official, he remained, according to the Star Tribune, “a force for justice reforms through both public advocacy and personal relationships, serving as a mentor to many state leaders.”
Johnson practiced environmental law at Gray Plant Mooty; he founded CornerHouse, an advocacy center for child victims of sexual abuse; he founded and sat on the board of the Minnesota Justice Research Center, which seeks fair and humane treatment for those in the criminal justice system (just a few weeks ago, he participated in a board meeting online); and he led the nonprofit Council on Crime and Justice from 1998 to 2007. Until shortly before his death, Johnson also served as the volunteer Ombudsman for Clerical Sexual Abuse for the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis.
In an obituary he wrote himself last December, Johnson said that the most satisfying work he’d done was “calling attention to the unacceptable racial disparities in the justice system and their cost to society.” Shortly after Johnson’s death, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued a statement calling him “a voice for the voiceless, a passionate pursuer of justice, a loving husband, and a wise and good-humored father.” Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who leads the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, said Johnson’s “compassionate work on behalf of victims of clergy sexual abuse was inspiring. We are a better church and a better community because of Tom.”
