Lierman's latest quest for postconviction relief comes to an end

The Nebraska Court of Appeals has affirmed the Honorable Mark Johnson’s denial of Darryl Lierman’s latest motion for postconviction relief, according to Antelope County Attorney Joe Smith.

Nebraska Court of Appeals judges, the Honorable Francie Reidmann, the Honorable Riko Bishop and the Honorable Lawrence Welch rendered their opinion May 16.

Lierman was represented by Michael Moyer of Madison, while Nebraska Attorney General Michael Hilger and Matthew Lewis served as counsel for the State of Nebraska.

Lierman claimed his trial counsel was ineffective by failing to call two specific witnesses at his trial and in failing to use Lierman’s driving logs to support an alibi defense. Johnson denied the motion June 29, 2022.

An Antelope County jury found Lierman guilty, in January 2018, of three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child, two counts of third-degree sexual assault of a child and three counts of child abuse. The jury of eight women and four men took less than four hours to reach their verdict. In March 2018, the then 51-year-old Neligh man was sentenced by Johnson, to 70-140 years in prison.

The judgement and sentence were affirmed by the Nebraska Supreme Court on March 20, 2020.