A Michigan teen has pleaded guilty to shooting dead a Democrat canvasser “for a dollar” during a robbery.
Lamar Kemp, 15, was sentenced to 35-60 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing Theodore Lawson while he was knocking on doors canvassing for the Democratic Party.
Kemp was charged in October of 2023 for murder and tried as an adult due to his previous record within Michigan’s juvenile system.
The local WILX News 10 reported on Lawson’s death.
Theodore Lawson was well known in many Democrat Michigan political circles and had worked to help several Democrats get elected in Michigan.
On October 8, 2023, Lawson was campaigning for Lansing City Council candidate Trini Lopez Pehlivanoglu when Kemp shot him dead during a botched robbery.
Teen shoots dead Michigan Democrat ‘for $1’ as he was canvassing for votes https://t.co/U33OXksmJK pic.twitter.com/dprYXWW2FL
— The Independent (@Independent) August 3, 2024
Per The Independent:
A teenager has pleaded guilty to murder for shooting dead a political activist “for a dollar” during a botched robbery.
Lamar Kemp, 15, from Lansing, Michigan, agreed to serve between 35 and 60 years in prison for killing Theodore “Ted” Lawson while he was knocking on doors canvassing for the Democrats.
“I shot him,” the teen said at his trial in an Ingham County courthouse on Friday as he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Ingham County prosecutor John Dewane charged Kemp in October 2023 as an adult due to the nature of the crime and the teen’s previous record in the juvenile system.
Lawson was popular in political circles and had worked across several Democratic election campaigns, both locally and across wider Michigan.
15-year-old agrees to plea deal in murder of Ingham County Democratic Party secretary Ted Lawson https://t.co/SpoZb10OkE
— Lansing State Journal (@LSJNews) August 2, 2024
