Calvin Duncan spent nearly 30 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Last week, he won the election for clerk of court in New Orleans Parish, a role he calls his dream job. See complete news article.
Duncan, who was wrongfully convicted of murder 40 years ago and sentenced to life in prison, handily defeated established incumbent Darren Lombard. Duncan received 68% of the vote with all precincts reporting their results.
In addition to his own experience as a defendant, Duncan was a “jailhouse lawyer” while serving time at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, helping other incarcerated people with their post-conviction filings.
Duncan was given a life sentence for the shooting death of a man during an Aug. 7, 1981 robbery. Police showed an eyewitness a mugshot of Duncan, who was 18 at the time of the incident, taken when he was 14 years old.
The Innocence Project of New Orleans, now known as Innocence and Justice Louisiana, began representing Duncan in 2004. Its attorneys questioned the accuracy of Emberling’s identification, noting she said she was convinced that Duncan was the shooter only after she saw him on television in handcuffs following his arrest.
Duncan’s conviction was vacated in 2021.
After his release, Duncan earned a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies from Tulane University and received his law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School. He founded the Light of Justice Program, which provides assistance to the incarcerated.
The clerk’s post puts Duncan in charge of record keeping for Orleans Parish Criminal Court, and he’ll oversee all elections in the city.
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