LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau

Published: April 30, 2026

By: Izzy Wollfarth, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – Jimmie Duncan, released from death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola after a judge found there had been no grounds for prosecuting him on charges of murdering 23-month-old Haley Oliveaux in 1993, went before the Louisiana Supreme Court this week to fight for his innocence once again.

Duncan, 57, who spent 27 years on death row at Angola before being released last year, was convicted of first-degree murder and sexual assault in a 1998 trial that leaned heavily on testimony by Dr. Steven Hayne, a medical pathologist. Hayne later was terminated from his position over questions about his findings and testimony in other cases.

Bite-mark evidence by Dr. Michael West, a Mississippi forensic odontologist, was introduced at trial, but West was not called to testify because he had been temporarily suspended by a professional board.

Judge Alvin R. Sharp, who oversaw judicial matters in Ouachita and Morehouse parishes, presided over a 2024 evidentiary hearing in which expert testimony concluded that Duncan’s conviction was based on bite-mark evidence, which has since been invalidated, and a faulty medical autopsy. Sharp was the judge who ruled there were not sufficient grounds to prosecute Duncan.

Read more at KATC.

Published: April 30, 2026

By: Alexandra Paul, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – Even though early voting is scheduled to start Saturday, Louisiana’s Republican leaders are likely to delay party primaries in congressional races after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the maps of the state’s six districts are unconstitutional, state lawmakers said.

State Atty. Gen. Liz Murrill said after the court ruling Wednesday that there is still time to suspend the party primaries and redraw the maps, a process that almost certainly would eliminate at least one of the two majority-Black districts.

Gov. Jeff Landry and legislative leaders know that any change in the election schedule is likely to be challenged in court.

Interviews with lawmakers in both parties show how many factors are at play.

“At least in my opinion, you can’t go forward with early voting, because you would be voting in districts that are unconstitutional,” Sen. Eddie Lambert (R-Gonzales) said in an interview.

Read more at KLFY.

Published: April 29, 2026

By: Sheridan White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – A heavily amended Senate bill that would limit the public release of information on who is a candidate for high-profile university positions and also shield the identity of university donors advanced through a House committee Tuesday.

As amended, Senate Bill 289, authored by Sen. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles and unanimously approved by the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs, would require state universities to release the names of three finalists in searches for new presidents and other top jobs.

Abraham’s original bill would have allowed for the process to be kept entirely confidential. His bill was a response to concerns that qualified applicants who hold an executive position elsewhere might be discouraged from applying if their names were made public.

The bill stalled in a House and Governmental Affairs Hearing last Thursday after members expressed concerns about the protection of donor names and “dark money.”

Read more at KALB.

Published: April 30, 2026

By: Sheridan White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – A proposal aimed at addressing homelessness in Louisiana is advancing through the Legislature, though it has sparked concern among some lawmakers and advocates about charging people living on the streets with criminal misdemeanors.

House Bill 211, by Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, cleared the Senate Judiciary C Committee Tuesday with only one dissenting vote from Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge.  The bill passed the House, 70-28, on April 15.

It is part of a broader initiative backed by Gov. Jeff Landry that seeks to respond to an increase in the state’s homeless population in the past decade.

Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, introduced an amendment Tuesday to ensure that no homeless individual could be convicted of a felony under the bill, regardless of repeated offenses. His amendment was adopted.

“I have a serious issue with taking people and converting them into a felon after a second offense,” Kleinpeter said. Noting that he is a military veteran, he said he wanted to protect veterans who might be temporarily homeless from life-altering criminal records.

Read more at Shreveport Times.

Published: April 28, 2026

By: Izzy Wollfarth, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – A bipartisan bill increasing the financial compensation to more than $400,000 for family members of law enforcement officers and firefighters who lose their lives in the line of duty advanced unanimously on the House floor Monday.

Rep. Jeffery “Jeff” Wiley, R-Maurepas, a retired Ascension Parish sheriff, led the floor discussion on the bill, which had 59 co-authors, including members of the Black caucus and notable Republican legislators.

More than 10 years ago, the state passed legislation giving spouses and dependents who suffered the loss of a loved one a one-time lump sum of $250,000. If an officer or firefighter does not have a spouse or dependents, the money is earmarked for his or her estate.

The current bill would increase the compensation amount to $404,000 to update the previous statute and account for inflation.

Read more at WBRZ.

Published: April 28, 2026

By: Izzy Wollfarth, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – A House bill requiring the Department of Public Safety & Corrections to publish prison data on its website advanced 59-32 Monday with no debate.

House Bill 525, authored by Rep. Barbara Carpenter, D-Baton Rouge, would require the Corrections Department to upload to its website accessible data pertaining to deaths that occurred within prison populations, state prison demographics and trends, and interactive dashboards on prisoner release.

Also included in the mandated data requirements is the number of individuals housed in pre-trial detention and with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The bill calls for data to be updated on an annual basis and uploaded on the department’s website no later than 30 days after the end of each month. No personal information protected under state and federal law would be released.

“HB 525 is a straightforward transparency bill,” Carpenter said on the House floor.

Read more at KALB.

Published: April 28, 2026

By: Sheridan White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – A bill aimed at reshaping how Louisiana handles liability for carbon-capture incidents is gaining traction at the State Capitol, signaling a potential shift in how the emerging industry is regulated.

House Bill 79, sponsored by Rep. Robby Carter, D-Greensburg, advanced without opposition Monday from the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee.

The measure would remove the current $250,000 cap on damages related to carbon-capture release incidents, placing the industry on equal footing with most other sectors operating in Louisiana.

Under current law, carbon-capture companies benefit from a liability limit that critics argue gives them an unfair advantage. Carter was outspoken in questioning why the industry is treated differently.

Read more at KSLA.

Published: April 27, 2026

By: Izzy Wollfarth, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – Beginning at age 16, Christi Cheramie was locked away for 25 years. She was a “juvenile lifer,” which is what juveniles serving life sentences without parole were called before the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the statute.

On Feb. 15, 2019, Cheramie was released from prison. She recalls the ride home vividly.

“I remember asking myself while I was looking out the window, where do I belong?” Cheramie said. “I didn’t quite understand where I was going to fit in a society that I didn’t know.”

Robert Walter Spencer said he grew up at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Spencer was in charge of the sound systems for the annual prison rodeo and was called on frequently to help. When Spencer was released in 2020 after spending 40 years incarcerated, the simple quiet of a friend’s empty home frightened him.

“Every little crack and creek and piling affected me,” Spencer said. “It was almost like having PTSD. It’s gotten a lot better, but at first I was kind of intimidated being alone.”

Read more at KATC.

Published: April 27, 2026

By: Izzy Wollfarth, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — A House bill that would require people convicted in death-penalty cases to submit evidence of an IQ below 75 to claim an intellectual disability defense advanced in a committee last week after vigorous debate.

House Bill 1107 defines “intellectually disabled” as a condition that occurred before the age of 18 that impaired and continues to impair a person’s behavior and intellectual functioning. In the bill, the definition of disability aligns with an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 75 or below.

Claims of intellectual disability are restricted to death-penalty cases. The bill requires a person found guilty in a capital case to provide clear and convincing evidence of an intellectual disability, including written expert reports. If enough evidence supports the claim, a person on death row could have his or her sentence changed to life in prison.

The bill also stipulates that a petitioner’s IQ test score above 75 would provide irrefutable evidence that a person does not have an intellectual disability, keeping the death-row sentence intact.

The bill passed 8-3 Thursday in the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee.

Read more at The News Star.

Published: April 24, 2026

By: AnnMarie Bedard, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana House voted 63-28 Thursday to eliminate the New Orleans clerk of criminal court position, a move that would prevent newly elected clerk Calvin Duncan from serving his term. 

Duncan, who was sworn in Wednesday after winning 68% of the vote in a November election, will be unable to take over the job as planned May 4 if the measure is signed into law by Gov. Jeff Landry, who has supported the proposal.

Duncan, who was wrongfully convicted and spent years in prison before being released and later exonerated, worked as a “prison lawyer” during his incarceration and later graduated from law school. 

Citing his struggle to access his own legal records, Duncan ran and won the election for Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal Court, unseating the incumbent, Darren Lombard.

The legislation, authored by Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, targeted Orleans as the only Louisiana parish with separate civil and criminal court clerks.

Read more at The Illuminator.