Louisiana man on death row for 27 years released on bail after conviction is overturned

A Louisiana man who spent 27 years on death row was released on bail after his murder conviction was overturned earlier this year in the 1993 death of his girlfriend’s toddler, his lawyers said

A Louisiana man who spent 27 years on death row was released on bail after his murder conviction was overturned earlier this year in the 1993 death of his girlfriend’s toddler, his lawyers said.

The release Wednesday of Jimmie Duncan, 57, marked a “significant step forward in his long fight for justice,” one of his attorneys, Chris Fabricant, said in a statement.

Fabricant noted the role of what he called “fraudulent forensics” in Duncan’s conviction and described his incarceration as “a gross miscarriage of justice.”

“His execution would have been a moral outrage,” Fabricant added.

Duncan, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 1998 and had been incarcerated at Angola state prison, was released on $150,000 bond, The Associated Press reported.