US News
Louisiana man released from death row faces retrial decision after murder conviction thrown out
Jimmie "Chris" Duncan spent 27 years on death row before the state supreme court overturned his conviction, but local prosecutors may retry him.
The short version
- The Louisiana Supreme Court overturned the 1998 murder conviction of Jimmie "Chris" Duncan after finding that bite mark evidence used to secure his death sentence was invalid.
- Duncan was released from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola after 27 years on death row and is working a night shift at Walmart while staying in central Louisiana.
- Ouachita Parish District Attorney Steve Tew believes Duncan is guilty and has until June 2027 to decide whether to retry him.
- Duncan remains ineligible for state wrongful conviction restitution until the district attorney formally declines to retry him or he is acquitted in a new trial.
Key facts
- Duncan was convicted in 1998 for the death of 23-month-old Haley Oliveaux after prosecutors relied on bite mark analysis provided by forensics experts Steven Hayne and Michael West.[ProPublica]
- In June, the Louisiana Supreme Court threw out Duncan's murder conviction, ruling that the bite marks on the victim could not have been made by a human.[ProPublica]
- A 1993 video recording shows West pressing and grinding a mold of Duncan's teeth against the child's body during the forensic examination.[ProPublica]
- Ouachita Parish District Attorney Steve Tew has until June 2027 to decide whether to retry Duncan on murder charges.[ProPublica]
- Louisiana's state restitution fund provides up to $480,000 over a decade for wrongfully convicted individuals, but applicants must be acquitted or have their charges dropped to qualify.[ProPublica]
What remains uncertain
- It is unknown whether the Ouachita Parish District Attorney's office will officially pursue a retrial before the June deadline.[ProPublica]