CALVIN DUNCAN

My name is Calvin. I am an educator and legal advocate. For more than 20 years, while wrongfully imprisoned for a crime I didn't commit, I served as a jailhouse lawyer, helping people in prison gain access to the courts.

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You can learn more about my story below. Thanks for stopping by!

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My Story

At 19, I was wrongfully arrested for murder. I began my journey in the Orleans Parish jail, facing the death penalty for a crime I didn't commit. I knew that I needed to learn the law, but with only a ninth-grade education and no access to law books, I didn't know where to start. After I was convicted and sentenced to life without parole, I was transferred to the Louisiana State Penitentiary. At 23, I was hired as an Inmate Counsel Substitute, assisting hundreds of my peers with civil and criminal matters. I taught a law class for more than 16 years, and over time, I became the prison's longest-serving Inmate Counsel.

In 2011, after more than 28 years in prison, I was released with the help of Innocence Project New Orleans.

As I built a new life on the outside, I was fortunate to be able to work on a number of initiatives aimed at assisting those still incarcerated.

One of these was a project to end the use of nonunimous jury verdicts, a practice only Oregon and Louisiana relied on, which I knew firsthand resulted in unjust convictions. I worked with attorney Ben Cohen to challenge nonunanimous verdicts at the Supreme Court, and in 2020, the Court handed down the landmark ruling Ramos v. Louisiana, which declared them unconstitutional.

In 2023, I graduated from law school at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon. I have since returned to New Orleans to continue my work under the banner of the Light of Justice project.

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Light of Justice Project

I created Light of Justice to champion the right of incarcerated individuals to access the courts, and to spotlight inequities in the post-conviction process.

In Louisiana, as in most states, the right to counsel ends once a defendant’s conviction and sentence are affirmed at their first appeal. From that point on, unless they can afford to hire an attorney, they must try to access the courts on their own.

Through the Light of Justice project, I assist Inmate Counsels to secure records and transcripts, as well as updated case law and law books, so they can help incarcerated people file their appeals. I also speak to judges and lawyers about the need for post-conviction reform and client-centered representation.

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In the News:

• ​A Relentless Jailhouse Lawyer Propels a Case to the Supreme Court @ New York Times, 2019.
• ​Without Hope for Parole, Prisoners with Life Sentences Tell Their Own Stories @ NPR’s All Things Considered, 2022.
• ​How a Wrongly Incarcerated Person Became the ‘Most Brilliant Legal Mind’ in ‘America’s Bloodiest Prison’ @ Innocence Project, 2021.

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Contact:

If you're interested in having me speak at your event, please write to me at inquiries@calvinduncan.com.

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