UPDATE: Louisiana Judge Ramona Emanuel ordered Glenn Ford to be ​“uncon­di­tion­al­ly released from the cus­tody of the Louisiana Department of Corrections.” (KTAL NBC News, Mar. 11, 2014). Glenn Ford, who has spent 30 years on Louisiana​’s death row is like­ly to be freed soon, after pros­e­cu­tors filed motions to vacate his con­vic­tion and sen­tence. Prosecutors said they recent­ly received ​“cred­i­ble evi­dence” that Ford ​“was nei­ther present at, nor a par­tic­i­pant in, the rob­bery and mur­der” of which he was con­vict­ed in 1984. Ford, who has always main­tained his inno­cence, was tried and sen­tenced to death by an all-white jury. One of the wit­ness­es against him said at tri­al that police had helped her make up her sto­ry. A state ​“expert” who tes­ti­fied about the vic­tim’s time of death had not even exam­ined the body. Ford’s lead tri­al attor­ney had nev­er tried a jury case before. A sec­ond attor­ney, two years out of law school, worked at an insur­ance defense firm. They failed to hire any experts to rebut the pros­e­cu­tion’s case because they believed they would have to pay for the experts them­selves. The Louisiana Supreme Court ear­li­er said it had ​“seri­ous ques­tions” about the out­come of the tri­al, but did not reverse Ford’s con­vic­tion. Ford may have been involved in try­ing to pawn jew­el­ry from the vic­tim that he received from one of the original codefendants.

Since 1973, 143 peo­ple have been exon­er­at­ed and released from death row. (See DPIC’s Innocence List.) It is pos­si­ble that Ford will be added to this list.

(A. Cohen, ​“After 30 Years on Death Row, an Innocent Man in Louisiana is About to Go Free,” The Atlantic, March 11, 2014). See Innocence and Representation.

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