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Louisiana's Longest-Serving Death Row Prisoner Walks Free After 30 Years
CNN ^ | Wed March 12, 2014 | Dana Ford

Posted on 03/12/2014 6:27:02 PM PDT by nickcarraway

There are many ways to measure 30 years, but for Glenn Ford, the yardstick is simple.

"My sons -- when I left -- was babies. Now they grown men with babies," he said, speaking as a free man for the first time in nearly three decades.

Ford, Louisiana's longest-serving death row prisoner, walked free Tuesday after spending nearly 30 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit.

"My mind's going all kinds of directions, but it feels good," Ford, 64, told reporters outside the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, according to CNN affiliate WAFB.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Extended News; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: amnestyinternational; cnn; deathpenalty; louisiana; playtheracecard
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1 posted on 03/12/2014 6:27:02 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Glenn Ford
2 posted on 03/12/2014 6:27:46 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

If they ever do a remake of Blackboard Jungle, I hope he gets a part. It would be quite a comeback.


3 posted on 03/12/2014 6:30:59 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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To: nickcarraway

Put the prosecutor on death row. I hate the rules of evidence for capital cases.


4 posted on 03/12/2014 6:36:15 PM PDT by Salvavida (The restoration of the U.S.A. starts with filling the pews at every Bible-believing church.)
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To: ClearCase_guy

We see far too many cases of prosecutorial and police misconduct. Find the easiest target and get a conviction.

I should know as I worked for several years in a prosecutors office as an investigator.


5 posted on 03/12/2014 6:36:46 PM PDT by rstrahan
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To: nickcarraway

One of the reasons I turned against the death penalty. I’m sorry that it took 30 years to clear him but it’s still better than the alternative.


6 posted on 03/12/2014 6:36:54 PM PDT by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
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To: nickcarraway
A different Glenn Ford I would suspect :-)

I wonder if they caught the real killer?

7 posted on 03/12/2014 6:41:44 PM PDT by Mark17 (Chicago Blackhawks: Stanley Cup champions 2010, 2013. Vietnam Vet 70-71 Msgt US Air Force, retired)
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To: Incorrigible
The fault is not with the death penalty, but with the people empowered to enact the "justice" system.
8 posted on 03/12/2014 6:46:14 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: Incorrigible
One of the reasons I turned against the death penalty. I’m sorry that it took 30 years to clear him but it’s still better than the alternative.

Same here. I' still be for the death penalty if there were no corrupt prosecutors or law enforcement officers. The problem is there are way too many of them an virtually nothing happens to them when caught because they have so much dirt on the others. Kind of an unspoken mutual extortion society.

9 posted on 03/12/2014 6:53:22 PM PDT by SeaHawkFan
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To: rstrahan

Hey! Hi, my sister works as an
investigator to this day. (Not on
this case, but, of course, she was
ecstatic to have this outcome.)

If the man is innocent, I am thrilled
to have justice done-—a just outcome!


10 posted on 03/12/2014 6:58:40 PM PDT by krunkygirl (force multiplier in effect...)
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To: SeaHawkFan
The problem is there are way too many of them an virtually nothing happens to them when caught because they have so much dirt on the others.

Yup, that's the problem, but then, why punish any crime because the perp might be falsely accused?

11 posted on 03/12/2014 7:21:33 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (ObamaCare is Medicaid: They'll pull a sheet over your head and send you the bill.)
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To: nickcarraway
Absolutely no details about the facts. I'm not about to take CNN's word on this one.

Too many of these "exonerations" are the results of legal shenannigans .

Had a case here a while back where a killer was given a new trial on a technicality. After 25 yrs one witness, victim's wife had died, another witness had dementia and blood evidence was lost.

Prosecutor decided not to retry. naacp paraded the guy around as a victim.

That being said, if someone is wrongly convicted by prosecutorial misconduct those responsible should go to jail for a long time. I would also like to see them held financially responsible rather than the taxpayer.

12 posted on 03/12/2014 7:22:03 PM PDT by Eagles6 (Valley Forge Redux)
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To: Salvavida
Put the prosecutor on death row. I hate the rules of evidence for capital cases.

Notice they never mention who the prosecutor was.

13 posted on 03/12/2014 7:22:45 PM PDT by aimhigh ( Self defense - a human right.)
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To: Salvavida

Exactly! I had an employee convicted and sentenced to 7 years probated. He’s in his 4th year of a horrible experience. Now, he wishes he had just gone to prison because he would have been out in about 18 months.

Worst of all, most of the past 4 years, he has not been able to see his two young sons even though they are in town.

The courts are horribly incompetent and legislatures and county probation people are bureaucratic vacuous naughts.

The judge in his case was very inexperienced and she made horrible rulings. His own lawyers were disloyal to him and sat on exculpatory evidence. There was no interest by the prosecutor in the truth. The incident itself was incredibly minor. After reading the transcript, I just said to myself OMG, if his life was at stake they would have killed him and would not have given a damn. And, oh by the way, the cops sat on the stand and told bald face factual lies and got away with it.

Based upon his experience as a very poor defendant, and after 65 years on the planet being very pro death penalty, I no longer support it in MOST cases.

Basically, absent a video tape of the crime, OR NOT one scintilla of doubt, I’m against it. Juries are incompetent too. They mostly are awed by the judges and lawyers and can be convinced that God is in the parking lot.

I think determining the truth by 12 citizens in an incompetent give a damn courtroom with about 6 lawyers on all sides that don’t give a damn either has, in this society, become an impossible task. We can no longer govern ourselves and we are, as a society, incompetent to put people to death.


14 posted on 03/12/2014 7:23:14 PM PDT by Cen-Tejas (it's the debt bomb stupid!)
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To: nickcarraway

Where does this poor guy go to get his life back. A third to a half of it gone!


15 posted on 03/12/2014 7:24:09 PM PDT by Flick Lives ("I can't believe it's not Fascism!")
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To: nickcarraway
walked free Tuesday after spending nearly 30 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit.

Looking sharp Louisiana...

16 posted on 03/12/2014 7:26:44 PM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: Flick Lives

Dunno (sometimes state legislatures will pass special relief bills) but you can bet that for as long as he does still live, he’s going to be making the circuits earning beaucoup $$ doing nothing harder than talking about it all.


17 posted on 03/12/2014 7:28:06 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: nickcarraway; a fool in paradise

The former inmate is reported to have taken the 3:10 train to Yuma.


18 posted on 03/12/2014 7:29:00 PM PDT by Revolting cat! (Bad things are wrong! Ice cream is delicious! We reserve the right to serve refuse to anyone!)
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To: Eagles6
Here's more details about the case.

Freedom After 30 Years on Death Row
19 posted on 03/12/2014 7:35:10 PM PDT by Girlene (Hey, NSA!)
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To: nickcarraway

It is harder everyday to support Death Penalty. Too much corruption within the legal system and police force. I still kinda support it, but definitely don’t blame states that get rid of it.


20 posted on 03/12/2014 7:40:51 PM PDT by napscoordinator ( Santorum-Bachmann 2016 for the future of the country!)
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