One State Opposes Nearly All Wrongful Conviction Payouts

Louisiana's top lawyer has taken an unusually combative stance against people the courts say were wrongfully locked up. In a deep dive for ProPublica, Richard A. Webster reports that state Attorney General Liz Murrill has opposed 22 of 23 claims for financial compensation from Louisianans whose convictions were thrown out—often after DNA, blood evidence, or proof of misconduct undercut the original cases. The story centers on 69-year-old Elvis Brooks, who spent more than 40 years behind bars for a 1977 New Orleans bar murder despite no physical evidence tying him to the crime and a dozen alibi witnesses. His conviction was vacated after prosecutors admitted they had not turned over fingerprint evidence that might have exonerated him.

Now eligible for up to $480,000 under a state program for the wrongfully convicted, Brooks is instead facing a push by Murrill to block his compensation. She argues, as with the other cases she has opposed, that he has not sufficiently proved his innocence. The case is still pending before the courts. Legal experts say Murrill's posture is unusually tough. "I can't think of an attorney general who has been quite as aggressive in trying to prevent people from getting compensation," says Jeffrey Gutman, a professor emeritus at George Washington University Law School. One parallel, however, might be with Jeff Landry, a former state AG who is now Louisiana's governor. He opposed 10 of 12 claims. Read the full story, which includes other exonerees' cases and the political fight over Louisiana's fund.