“I actually didn’t believe it until [I] actually was arrested,” Duncan told The Epoch Times.

Wrongfully Accused

Duncan knew he was innocent, so he waived his extradition to New Orleans. He thought there had just been a horrible mix up.

Duncan spent two and a half years awaiting trial in jail. As he waited, he hoped that the police would find the person who had actually committed the murder.

When the trial began in January 1985, Duncan was finally made aware of the evidence the state was going to present against him.

Duncan was charged with first degree murder, and to make matters worse the prosecution was seeking the death penalty.

The state had three pieces of evidence: Firstly, there was a 15-year-old girl who claimed she had witnessed Duncan murder the victim, who was her boyfriend.

The second piece of evidence was testimony from police officers in Oregon and New Orleans saying he had made incriminating statements to them.

The third piece of evidence was a call to a crime stoppers tip line accusing him of the murder.

Duncan’s public defenders didn’t have the resources to investigate his case, and he only saw them the night before his trial when they checked to see if he had clothes.

The seriousness of Duncan’s situation had begun to sink in.

“I just knew I was going to get convicted,” Duncan recalled.

Jailhouse Lawyer

Duncan’s trial in 1985 lasted less than a day before the jury convicted him of first degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison, and would have to fight to prove his innocence.

Even after his conviction, Duncan hoped the state would find the person who had actually committed the murder. He didn’t even hold any ill will toward the witness. He thought she had made a genuine mistake.

Going into prison, Duncan knew he wasn’t the only one there who had been wrongfully convicted. His plan was to save money in order to hire an investigator and get the court documents from his trial.

After working in the fields and donating his plasma, he had saved enough money to get some of the documents from his trial. After going before a review board, he gained the ability to access the law library and studied diligently.

He had become a jailhouse lawyer in the parish prison in New Orleans, and continued to work as one when he was sent to the Louisiana State Penitentiary to serve his sentence. His job was to help other inmates with their cases and get access to the courts.

While working as a jailhouse lawyer, he was able to help numerous inmates.

However, he was uncertain if he’d be able to help himself. Duncan had visited Tulane University twice during his incarceration to pick up law books, and longed to pursue his education there if he was ever released.

Saving a Life

Notably, he worked on a case for an inmate named Juan Smith who had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Duncan was able to get his case heard in the United States Supreme Court after he made a claim to the trial court.

Smith’s lawyers were able to obtain the trial documents, and then brought the case to the Supreme Court in a case called Smith v. Cain.

The court ruled 8-1 to overturn his conviction because the prosecution had withheld evidence at trial. . . .

Duncan then met a young woman named Emily Bolton, and the two founded the Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO) while he was incarcerated.

The organization ultimately took up Duncan’s case in 2005. He had already served 23 years of his life sentence.

They appealed the ruling, and the Louisiana Supreme Court vacated the judge’s decision. Duncan’s case was then remanded back to the trial court for a new hearing claiming the prosecution had withheld favorable evidence.

The state offered Duncan a deal. He would not be able to maintain his innocence, and would have to plead guilty to manslaughter and attempted armed robbery. He was ultimately sentenced to time served.

After the deal, Duncan was released on January 7, 2011 after serving 28 and a half years. Now that he was free, he was able to start living his life again.

“I felt good. I always prayed that God would release me out of prison. I finally got what I prayed for,” Duncan said. . . .

(Excerpt from Epoch Times. Article by Andrew Thomas.)