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Exonerated Former Prisoner Wins Election for Chief Record Keeper in New Orleans
Article • January 1, 2026 • from PLN January, 2026
Filed under: Prisoner Legal Assistance, Juries, Public Records, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment
Exonerated Former Prisoner Wins Election for Chief Record Keeper in New Orleans by On November 15, 2025, a man who was once serving a life sentence for murder was elected as the chief record keeper for New Orlean’s criminal court. Calvin Duncan, 62, spent 28 years in prison before winning …
$315,00 to Louisiana Man Imprisoned, Deported
Article • December 22, 2017
Filed under: Wrongful Imprisonment, Immigration
$315,00 to Louisiana Man Imprisoned, Deported by Lonnie Burton by Lonnie Burton In 2015 the United States government agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a Mexican national who had been a U.S. citizen for six years before Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials rounded him up, threw him in …
$82,500 Damages to Detained American, Federal Judge Blasts ICE
Article • December 7, 2017
Filed under: Wrongful Imprisonment, Immigration, False Arrest
$82,500 Damages to Detained American, Federal Judge Blasts ICE by Christopher Zoukis By Christopher Zoukis In a scathing opinion, Judge Jack B. Weinstein, Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, awarded a wrongfully detained American citizen $82,500 in damages for false arrest …
Too Little, Too Late: Prosecutor Remorseful for Sending Innocent Man to Death Row
Article • January 10, 2017 • from PLN January, 2017
Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Prosecutors, Juries, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty, Death Row, Racial Profiling
Too Little, Too Late: Prosecutor Remorseful for Sending Innocent Man to Death Row by David Reutter The district attorney who prosecuted Glenn Ford, a Louisiana man exonerated after spending 30 years on death row, called capital punishment “an abomination that continues to scar the fibers of this society.” That statement …
Man Nearly Executed, Awarded $14M after Exoneration
Article • August 8, 2016
Filed under: Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Malicious Prosecution, Evidence, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Death Row
Man Nearly Executed, Awarded $14M after Exoneration by A former death row inmate who came within weeks of being executed was awarded $14 million by a federal jury in New Orleans after being cleared of his murder conviction. John Thompson, 40, spent 18 years in prison after being convicted of …
DNA Keeps Overturning Convictions, But Spike in Exonerations Owed to Other Factors
Article • August 5, 2016
Filed under: Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, DNA Testing/Samples, Witnesses, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment
DNA Keeps Overturning Convictions, But Spike in Exonerations Owed to Other Factors by Joe Watson Nicole Harris, Henry Lee McCollum and Leon Brown have lived through their own nightmares of injustice. All three were wrongfully convicted of the heinous murders of children. Combined, they spent nearly 70 years in prison …
Exonerees Fulfill Dreams, Help Other Prisoners Overcome Wrongful Convictions
Article • June 3, 2016 • from PLN June, 2016
Filed under: Lobbying, Advocacy, Prison Reform, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Release and Reentry, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Pardons/Clemency
Exonerees Fulfill Dreams, Help Other Prisoners Overcome Wrongful Convictions by David Reutter by David Reutter and Joe Watson Former Louisiana death row prisoner John Thompson has spearheaded an organization that aims to help the wrongfully convicted and former prisoners successfully rebuild their lives. Thompson was sentenced to death for the …
Prosecutorial Misconduct: Taking the Justice Out of Criminal Justice
Article • November 8, 2014 • from PLN November, 2014
Filed under: Government Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Attorney Misconduct, Attorneys General, Prosecutors, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Prosecutorial Immunity, Criminal Procedure
Prosecutorial Misconduct: Taking the Justice Out of Criminal Justice by Christopher Zoukis Prosecutorial Misconduct: Taking the Justice Out of Criminal Justice by Christopher Zoukis The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America. His discretion is tremendous.... While the prosecutor at his best …
Fifth Circuit Reverses $659,300 Katrina-Related Jury Award
Article • March 15, 2013 • from PLN March, 2013
Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Jail Specific, Wrongful Imprisonment
Fifth Circuit Reverses $659,300 Katrina-Related Jury Award by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In March 2012, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a $659,300 jury award in favor of two men who were arrested for public intoxication in New Orleans two days before Hurricane Katrina struck, and were then …
Award for Freed Prisoner Vacated by Louisiana Appellate Court
Article • February 15, 2012
Filed under: Civil Procedure, Evidentiary Ruling, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment
Award for Freed Prisoner Vacated by Louisiana Appellate Court by On February 20, 2008, the First Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeals vacated and remanded for further proceedings a trial court’s judgment awarding a former prisoner compensation for a wrongful conviction and imprisonment. Calvin Williams was convicted in 1977 of first-degree …
Paperwork SNAFU Leaves Mentally Ill Woman Jailed in Louisiana for Eight Months
Article • September 15, 2011 • from PLN September, 2011
Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment
Paperwork SNAFU Leaves Mentally Ill Woman Jailed in Louisiana for Eight Months by A paperwork error was blamed for a schizophrenic and bipolar woman being held in Louisiana jails for eight months even though the charges against her were dropped and she had not been appointed an attorney. Louisiana state …
U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Wrongful Conviction Suit Against New Orleans DA, Vacates $14 Million Judgment
Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011
Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Malicious Prosecution, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Immunity/Liability, Municipal Liability, Failure to Train/Supervise
U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Wrongful Conviction Suit Against New Orleans DA, Vacates $14 Million Judgment by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna and Brandon Sample In a March 29, 2011 five-to-four decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a former Louisiana prisoner who filed a § 1983 suit against Orleans Parish …
Post-Katrina Circumstances Excuse Holding Prisoner Beyond Indictment Deadline
Article • November 15, 2010 • from PLN November, 2010
Filed under: Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Wrongful Imprisonment
Post-Katrina Circumstances Excuse Holding Prisoner Beyond Indictment Deadline by On June 21, 2010, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that emergency conditions at a Louisiana prison following Hurricane Katrina helped excuse the failure of a warden to release a prisoner for three months after the deadline for filing an …
Holding Prisoner Beyond Release Date Violates Due Process
Article • May 15, 2007
Filed under: Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity
Holding Prisoner Beyond Release Date Violates Due Process by A Louisiana Federal District Court has denied qualified immunity to officials of the Louisiana Department of Corrections (DOC), whose actions in calculating a prisoner's release date kept the prisoner past the date he should have been released. All parties were denied …
Doing “Katrina Time”
Article • May 15, 2007 • from PLN May, 2007
Filed under: Attorneys, Public Defenders, Wrongful Imprisonment, State Legislation
later; the rest had to fight much longer to win their freedom. Defense attorney Phyllis Mann and other volunteers filed 2,100 wrongful imprisonment petitions in a five-month period, leading to almost ...
Police Officer May Be Liable for Failing to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence to Prosecutor
Article • May 15, 2007
Filed under: Police Misconduct, Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, False Arrest
Police Officer May Be Liable for Failing to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence to Prosecutor by Police Officer May Be Liable For Failing to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence to Prosecutor The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held a police officer can be liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims of false detention and …
Louisiana Prison Writer Free After 44 Years
Article • August 15, 2005 • from PLN August, 2005
Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Death Penalty, Prisoner Media
Louisiana Prison Writer Free After 44 Years by Michael Rigby Award-winning prison journalist and civil rights figure Wilbert Rideau, once described as “the most rehabilitated prisoner in America,” is free after spending more than four decades behind bars. Ironically, Rideau’s freedom came not from being exonerated, but from being found …