He Spent 27 Years on Death Row as a Wrongfully Convicted Man. What Comes Next? by Richard A. Webster, Verite News, and Kathleen Flynn for ProPublica Co-published with Verite News

He Spent 27 Years on Death Row as a Wrongfully Convicted Man. What Comes Next? 23-hour solitary confinement. 115-degree heat. Jimmie Duncan is haunted by the decades he spent in Louisiana’s Angola prison — and how, even after being released, he still isn’t truly free. by Richard A. Webster, Verite News, and Kathleen Flynn for ProPublica Co-published with Verite News August 31, 2026, 5:00 am https://www.propublica.org/article/louisiana-angola-death-row-wrongful-conviction-jimmie-duncan?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=secondary Since January 2025, I have been covering the ongoing saga of former death row inmate Jimmie “Chris” Duncan. The Louisiana native was convicted in 1998 of murdering his former girlfriend’s toddler, Haley Oliveaux, and sentenced to death. Duncan never wavered in his claim of innocence, always maintaining that the child’s death was a terrible accident. After spending nearly three decades on death row, the courts finally agreed. Richard A. Webster, Verite News Reporter and LRN Fellow In June, the Louisiana Supreme Court threw out Duncan’s conviction, finding that the alleged bite marks found on the child’s body, the only physical proof tying Duncan to the alleged crime, were likely fabricated and could not have been made by a human. Following the court’s decision, I got the green light to interview Duncan in person for the first time since my coverage began. Several weeks ago, photographer Kathleen Flynn and I sat down with Duncan. He spoke about the decades he spent on death row, the immense damage his wrongful conviction inflicted upon his family and the struggles he has experienced since his release. Through it all, Duncan remained poised and incredibly thoughtful, rarely exhibiting the anger most would expect from someone who had half their life taken away.