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Luisiana: Land of incarcerated innocents and Home of Corrupt Judges [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-11-04  

Luisiana has more people serving life without parole than Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi combined.

The 5th circuit, which covers Jefferson Parish, adopted a convenient system devised by chief judge Edward A. Dufresne Jr.: any time a defendant filed a petition without a lawyer, the clarke of the court, would deny it in the name of a 3-judge panel that existed only on paper. No judge actually reviewed the peitions.

The clarke, Peterson, eventually committed suicide and he sent detailed letters to the judges, the state judicial commission, and to The Times-Picayune. The courts buried the letter, and The Times-Picayune for some reason did not pay attention to what amounted to a suicide note alleging a massive corruption and violation of fundamental rights.

When eventually a lawyer filed a lawsuit in the Luisiana Supreme Court, it sent the cases back to, you guessed it, the 5th Circuit, which very soon pronounced that no errors were made in the previous denials.

Read another block-buster investigative report from Pro Publica:

www.propublica.org/...

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