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Former Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has joined the Board of Directors of Innocence & Justice Louisiana. His decades of public service and commitment to a fairer criminal legal system will help advance IJLA’s mission to free the innocent and transform justice in Louisiana.

On this Wrongful Conviction Day, we are in a moment that we have not faced before: three different clients are facing retrial after their original convictions were reversed. They are Raymond Laugand, Cheri Hayden, and Keith Ezidore. In each case, despite overwhelming evidence that someone else committed the crime, the state is pushing to send these innocent people back to prison.

John Thompson – better known as JT – was a friend of IPNO’s office who shaped who we are today. In 1984, JT was arrested for crimes he did not commit. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to death after the prosecutors in his case deliberately withheld blood evidence showing…

Recently, we received a significant update in our long-running litigation for James Skinner. We had asked the United States Supreme Court to review Mr. Skinner’s conviction because the Louisiana state courts had refused to grant Mr. Skinner postconviction relief and had barely given any reasons. The U.S. Supreme Court had reversed the conviction of Mr. Skinner’s co-defendant, Michael Wearry, in 2016 because his lawyers uncovered significant favorable suppressed evidence that undermined the State’s case against…

Calvin Duncan to receive the John Thompson Award for Courage & Justice during the milestone celebration NEW ORLEANS — Innocence & Justice Louisiana (IJLA) will host its 25th Anniversary Gala on Saturday, September 19, from 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM at Xavier University of Louisiana’s University Center Ballroom located at…

Recently, we received a significant update in our long-running litigation for James Skinner. We had asked the United States Supreme Court to review Mr. Skinner’s conviction because the Louisiana state courts had refused to grant Mr. Skinner postconviction relief and had barely given any reasons. The U.S. Supreme Court had reversed the conviction of Mr. Skinner’s co-defendant, Michael Wearry, in 2016 because his lawyers uncovered significant favorable suppressed evidence that undermined the State’s case against…