CORRECTION

A report on Page B7 on Monday about an NAACP rally in downtown Raleigh incorrectly said the assemblage was a collection of black leaders. The crowd was mostly black but included people of other races.

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RALEIGH -- The state head of the NAACP on Sunday rallied a crowd of more than 100 supporters who called for felony charges to be dropped against a Wilson man, James Johnson, accused of rape and murder.

"Everything about this case smells," said the Rev. William J. Barber II, NAACP's state president. Barber joined a collection of black leaders at rally at First Baptist Church on Wilmington Street and announced that Johnson's case is featured on the organization's Web site, along with an online petition to Gov. Mike Easley and Attorney General Roy Cooper in support of Johnson. Barber also has sent a letter to U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield calling for congressional hearings on prosecutor misconduct.

In July 2004, Johnson was arrested in connection with the slaying and rape of Brittany Willis, 17, in Wilson. Johnson denied involvement with the killing, and another man confessed to it. But Johnson stayed in jail for 39 months before his bond was lowered enough for his parents to afford his release in September. The charges are still pending against Johnson.

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