Months after a judge tossed out his 1998 murder conviction, Jimmie Duncan is free on bail. But prosecutors have asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to reinstate the death penalty for Duncan, even as the victim’s mother has come to support his release.

Jimmie “Chris” Duncan walked out of the Ouachita Parish Correctional Center and into the arms of his parents last week after spending the last 27 years on death row.

Seven months ago, a Louisiana district court judge vacated his murder conviction for killing his former girlfriend’s toddler, citing doubts about the evidence used to convict him. The judge granted bail after multiple legal delays, including an unsuccessful request by prosecutors to the Louisiana Supreme Court to stop his release. Now free, Duncan spent Thanksgiving with his family — then celebrated his 57th birthday the next day.

But Duncan’s journey to freedom is far from over. Prosecutors have asked the state Supreme Court to reinstate his death sentence. Duncan’s attorneys declined to make him immediately available for an interview.

  • Mirshe@lemmy.world
    4·
    7 hours ago

    Pretty much why I’m anti-death-penalty in all cases. The state shouldn’t be allowed to deal death as a punishment, because there’s too much at stake. You can’t un-kill someone if you get things wrong, and prosecutors have a vested interest in, at the very least, not being wrong. Being right doesn’t matter, but being wrong can cost you your position or your credibility within the legal field. Killing the defendant wraps things up nicely because a corpse can’t defend itself, and it can’t say “I wasn’t there” or “I had nothing to do with this”, it can’t plead its own innocence - so you can put whatever words you like into their mouths and it plays perfectly with a jury.