Louisiana GOP races to eliminate an elected office won by an exonerated man
Louisiana GOP races to eliminate an elected office won by an exonerated man
By JACK BROOK and SARA CLINE
Updated 5:25 PM EDT, April 9, 2026
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A man imprisoned for nearly 30 years before being exonerated won a landmark election in New Orleans promising to fix a judicial system that failed him. Now, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and the GOP-controlled Legislature are racing to eliminate his job before he can be sworn in.
Calvin Duncan won 68% of the vote last November to become the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court after pledging to reform the justice system based on his own experience fighting to access court records while in maximum security prison.
Duncan rebuilt his life, in part by running for and winning the clerk’s office. But Louisiana Senate Republicans on Wednesday voted to scrap Duncan’s new job as part of a broader GOP effort to streamline the judiciary in New Orleans, a Democratic hub with a predominantly Black electorate. The state Legislature is largely Republican and white, and the deeply red state has been leading efforts to gut the Voting Rights Act.
Duncan’s swearing in is scheduled for May 4.
{snip}
@kevinmkruse.bsky.social
I too have written about white conservatives in southern state legislatures rushing through bullshit changes to the law just to thwart the advancement of literally one black man, but I'm a historian who writes about the Jim Crow era South and not a reporter discussing current fucking events there.
Phil Lewis
@phillewis.bsky.social
· 5h
Calvin Duncan, a man imprisoned for 30 years before he was exonerated, won an election in New Orleans promising to fix a judicial system that failed him
Now, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and the GOP-controlled Legislature are racing to eliminate his job before he can be sworn in
Louisiana GOP races to eliminate an elected office won by an exonerated man
A New Orleans man exonerated after serving nearly 30 years in prison has a new fight on his hands. Calvin Duncan has been elected as the city's new clerk of criminal court, but now Republican lawmaker...
apnews.com
8:25 PM · Apr 11, 2026
I too have written about white conservatives in southern state legislatures rushing through bullshit changes to the law just to thwart the advancement of literally one black man, but I'm a historian who writes about the Jim Crow era South and not a reporter discussing current fucking events there.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) 2026-04-12T00:25:43.850Z
@phillewis.bsky.social
Calvin Duncan, a man imprisoned for 30 years before he was exonerated, won an election in New Orleans promising to fix a judicial system that failed him
Now, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and the GOP-controlled Legislature are racing to eliminate his job before he can be sworn in
Louisiana GOP races to eliminate an elected office won by an exonerated man
A New Orleans man exonerated after serving nearly 30 years in prison has a new fight on his hands. Calvin Duncan has been elected as the city's new clerk of criminal court, but now Republican lawmaker...
apnews.com
5:31 PM · Apr 11, 2026
Calvin Duncan, a man imprisoned for 30 years before he was exonerated, won an election in New Orleans promising to fix a judicial system that failed him
— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) 2026-04-11T21:31:39.831Z
Now, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and the GOP-controlled Legislature are racing to eliminate his job before he can be sworn in
@kevinmkruse.bsky.social
When Mississippi was trying to keep James Meredith out of Ole Miss despite federal court orders, the state legislature rushed through a bill barring anyone convicted of a crime from attending a state school.
They referred to it as "Meredith's Law" in the debate.
/2
8:31 PM · Apr 11, 2026
When Mississippi was trying to keep James Meredith out of Ole Miss despite federal court orders, the state legislature rushed through a bill barring anyone convicted of a crime from attending a state school.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) 2026-04-12T00:31:59.257Z
They referred to it as "Meredith's Law" in the debate.
/2
@kevinmkruse.bsky.social
And a few hours later, a justice of the peace convicted Meredith in absentia on trumped up charges of lying on a voter registration form, sentencing him to a year in prison.
Segregationists weren't subtle about it. Their racist heirs still aren't.
8:33 PM · Apr 11, 2026
And a few hours later, a justice of the peace convicted Meredith in absentia on trumped up charges of lying on a voter registration form, sentencing him to a year in prison.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) 2026-04-12T00:33:10.072Z
Segregationists weren't subtle about it. Their racist heirs still aren't.
= new reply since forum marked as read
