Louisiana Republicans push to eliminate an elected office won by exonerated man
FILE-An aerial view of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Calvin Duncan, a man imprisoned for almost 30 years before he was exonerated, won an election in New Orleans, but Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and a Republican-controlled Legislature are pushing to eliminate his job before he can be sworn into office.
Duncan's swearing in is scheduled for May 4. The Associated Press reported that he won 68% of the vote in November 2025 to become the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court. He promised to improve the justice system based on his own experience fighting to access court records while in a maximum security prison.
Why is the Louisiana GOP attempting to eliminate the clerk's office job?
Dig deeper:
Chris Duncan ran for and won the clerk’s office. However, Louisiana Senate Republicans on April 8 voted to remove Duncan’s new job as part of a GOP effort to refine the judiciary in New Orleans. The Associated Press reported that the state Legislature is mainly Republican and is leading efforts to gut the Voting Rights Act.
RELATED: Immigrant detainees could be sent to notorious Louisiana prison soon, reports say
According to the AP, Senate Republicans passed a bill on April 8 to eliminate the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court, telling the news outlet that the action is part of a larger judicial overhaul.
What they're saying:
Chris Duncan told the AP that he thinks he’s being retaliated against by Louisiana officials who have long denied his innocence. The AP noted that Duncan’s name is listed on the National Registry of Exonerations.
The other side:
Conversely, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry explained to the AP that removing Duncan's elected office was about improving "government efficiency" and "cleaning up a system in Orleans Parish that has been plagued by dysfunction and corruption for years."
Who is Calvin Duncan?
The backstory:
Chris Duncan ended up in prison for 28 years in a case involving the 1981 murder of 23-year-old David Yeager.
In 2011, prosecutors offered to reduce Duncan’s sentence to time served if he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and armed robbery. According to the Associated Press, Duncan was freed from jail, but he didn’t give up in his efforts to clear his name.
RELATED: Trump administration launches immigration crackdown in New Orleans
Years later in 2021, a judge agreed that Duncan was unjustly convicted and vacated his sentence altogether.
The AP reported that Duncan crusaded for a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended nonunanimous jury convictions. Duncan also founded a nonprofit dedicated to expanding incarcerated individuals' access to the court system. Duncan also told the AP that being elected to the clerk’s office was the combination of his life’s work.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, which received comments from Chris Duncan and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.