George Toca, 17-years-old when arrested, was wrongfully convicted in 1985 of murdering his best friend Eric Batiste.

Mr. Batiste was accidentally shot by his accomplice during an attempted robbery. Although Mr. Toca did not remotely resemble the description of the shooter given by the two witnesses, the police quickly assumed he was the gunman because they knew Mr. Batiste and Mr. Toca were friends.

Mr. Toca did not remotely resemble the description of the shooter given by two witnesses. The witnesses described the shooter as 5'10" to 6' tall and weighing 140 lbs. Mr. Toca was 5'5" tall and weighed less than 125 lbs. - at least five inches shorter and 25 pounds smaller than the gunman the witnesses described. Also missing from the description was Mr. Toca's very prominent gold teeth.

His attorney at trial had little information available to him so he could not present a full defense for George or subject the State's case to serious scrutiny and, as a result, the jury mistakenly convicted an innocent man.

Evidence gathered by Innocence Project New Orleans since 2003 shows George Toca is innocent, and points to another man who does match the descriptions given of the shooter, as the actual killer. This man has been consistently identified by multiple witnesses (including friends of his) as the real shooter. Additional new evidence points to a second man as likely having also been at the scene of the shooting.

Mr. Batiste's family has always firmly believed that the wrong man was convicted for his death and has called on District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, Jr. to free Mr. Toca.

While Mr. Toca has been locked up at Angola for the last 25 years, the real killer has gone free.

How you can help:

Call the DA and demand justice (click here for talking points)

Sign the petion and share with friends

Join the Free George Toca Facebook group and stay up to date on his case