By Richard A. Webster ALEXANDRIA, La. — An emergency broadcast alert blares from Elvis Brooks’s cellphone, warning him that a tornado has been spotted in the area. “Seek shelter now,” the electronic voice urges. Brooks shrugs off the threat, though his…
By Emily Bazelon In 2011, Michael Shannon was wrongly convicted of murder, even though two jurors voted to acquit him — a result of a Louisiana law rooted in discrimination. But for defendants like Shannon — and the holdout jurors…
By Dara Sharif A New Orleans man who has long maintained he was wrongly convicted of murder experienced freedom for the first time in 42 years after a virtual deal with the devil won him his liberty, if not true…
By John Simerman A 62-year-old man who left New Orleans as a teenager for a life in prison on a murder conviction will be released from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola under a deal offered last week by Orleans…
Organizations previously filed amicus brief highlighting those wrongfully convicted by non-unanimous juries October 7, 2019 – Today, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in Ramos v. Louisiana, in which the Court will decide whether the U.S. Constitution requires…
By Erin Moriarty When eyewitness testimony is wrong Eyewitness testimony, once considered the gold standard of evidence, can often result in wrongful convictions. Of those who have been exonerated by DNA evidence, it’s estimated that faulty eyewitness testimony is responsible…
By Adam Liptak WASHINGTON — “For 23 years, I was a jailhouse lawyer,” said Calvin Duncan, a former inmate at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. “That was my assigned job.” He had a 10th-grade education, and he was serving…
By David Jacobs Recent legislation is changing how Louisiana’s legal system handles eyewitness testimony, the executive director of Innocence Project New Orleans said Monday. Jee Park told the Baton Rouge Press Club a law that went into effect this year…
By Emily Maw, Guest Columnist Those who regulate the legal profession would do well to observe the reaction of the Netflix-watching public to Ava DuVernay’s series, “When They See Us.” The series harrowingly chronicles the pain of five black and…
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