With great joy, we can announce that we have just received an opinion from
Commissioner Rachel Morgan of the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge
recommending that Herman Wallace's 1974 murder conviction be reversed. The
opinion is the result of an evidentiary hearing held inside the Louisiana State
Penitentiary on September 19, and gives us new hope that Herman, who is 65
years old and has now been in solitary confinement for 34 years, may soon win
his freedom. There are, however, still struggles ahead.
The Commissioner
found that the prosecution violated Herman's due process rights by hiding
from the jury and defense lawyers the fact that it had provided prison informant
Hezekiah Brown, their key witness, with the promise of a pardon from a life
sentence as well as a carton of cigarettes per week and a private room with
a television on prison grounds. Under the law, this constitutional
violation requires that Herman's conviction for the 1972 murder of a correctional
officer be overturned. This case, like so many others, involves an
incompetent and biased investigation focusing on innocent men and prosecutors
who lied and cheated to win convictions.
We are still several steps away from this decision resulting in Herman's release. The
Commissioner's recommended ruling will now be presented to the district judge,
who has the power to adopt it as is (which routinely happens), amend it, or
order further hearings. We are hopeful, given the strength of Herman's case
and the reasoning of the opinion, that the court will adopt the Commissioner's
recommendation as it is written and overturn Herman's conviction.
If the court overturns Herman's conviction, it is likely that the Baton Rouge
district attorney's office will appeal that decision to the Louisiana Court
of Appeal and Supreme Court, a process that could take as long as two years. It
is also possible that the state could seek to retry Herman, but we would vigorously
challenge a retrial at this late stage as a violation of Herman's constitutional
rights. Moreover, considering the weakness of the state's evidence, it
is difficult to envision a retrial resulting in any verdict other than acquittal.
We spoke at length with Herman and his codefendant Albert Woodfox today. They
are both overjoyed. Herman was able to personally notify several of his
family members and friends, and he asked us to thank all of the dozens, if
not hundreds, of people who have contributed to this cause over the years. Albert
is hopeful that success in Herman's case will help him, as he is just beginning
the process of litigating a federal habeas corpus petition.
