LOUISIANA DEATH ROW INMATE FREED ON BAIL AFTER CONVICTION IN CHILD’S DEATH OVERTURNED NEARLY 30 YEARS LATER (PHOTO).

 Louisiana death row inmate freed on bail after conviction in child’s death overturned nearly 30 years later

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row has been released on bail after his 1998 conviction for the death of a 23-month-old child was overturned earlier this year.

Jimmie Duncan had been convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Haley Oliveaux, the daughter of his then-girlfriend, Allison Layton Statham. Prosecutors had alleged that Duncan had raped and drowned the toddler. In April, Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Alvin Sharp vacated the conviction after expert testimony revealed that the forensic evidence relied on at trial—particularly bite mark analysis—was scientifically unreliable, and that Oliveaux’s death appeared consistent with an accidental drowning. Judge Sharp cited Duncan’s lack of prior criminal history and the new evidence in granting him bail.

Duncan’s attorneys described the ruling as “clear and convincing evidence” of his factual innocence and said his release represents a major step toward complete exoneration. Duncan, who posted a $150,000 bond, plans to live with a relative in central Louisiana while the case continues to be reviewed by the state Supreme Court.

Louisiana has one of the highest wrongful conviction rates in the country, with 12 death row exonerations since 1973. Nationwide, more than 200 death row inmates have been exonerated since that time.

At a bail hearing in Ouachita Parish, Statham said she now believes Duncan was innocent and that her daughter, who had a history of seizures, likely drowned accidentally. The Innocence Project noted that Haley had suffered several seizures and injuries in the weeks before her death, and that warm baths could have increased the risk of a fatal seizure. Statham told the court that both her family and Duncan’s life had been destroyed by the false narrative created by prosecutors and discredited forensic experts.

The original conviction relied on bite mark evidence, and an autopsy conducted by two experts was later linked to multiple wrongful convictions. Court filings indicated that molds of Duncan’s teeth were forcibly pressed into Haley’s body to produce marks that were later presented at trial as a match. Legal experts called the method “junk science,” noting that it has led to dozens of overturned convictions across the U.S.

Prosecutors are seeking to reinstate Duncan’s conviction, citing the 1994 grand jury indictment, while his legal team emphasized his record as a model prisoner who assisted other inmates in earning GEDs and enjoys strong community support. Duncan was one of 55 inmates on death row in Louisiana, housed at the Angola State Prison, where executions resumed this year after a 15-year pause.