MONROE, La. — After 27 years on death row, Jimmie “Chris” Duncan was released Wednesday after Judge Alvin Sharp of the 4th Judicial District in Ouachita Parish ruled that “clear and convincing evidence proves (Duncan) is factually innocent in the alleged murder of Haley Oliveaux,” according to the Innocence Project.
Jimmie Duncan spent nearly three decades imprisoned in Louisiana’s Angola prison for a crime that never occurred, reports the Innocence Project. The organization states the charge “was based entirely on junk science proffered by discredited forensic analysts Michael West and Steven Hayne, who are responsible for at least nine other wrongful convictions.”
After a three-day hearing in July, Judge Sharp granted bail to Duncan, leading to his release while the state appealed the order overturning his conviction.
Chris Fabricant, Duncan’s Innocence Project attorney who speaks frequently on the misapplication of forensic science and is director of strategic litigation at the Innocence Project, emphasized, “Duncan was wrongly convicted based on the fraudulent forensics of Drs. Steven Hayne and Michael West, woefully ineffective defense counsel, and the State’s patent misconduct. (Duncan’s) incarceration was a gross miscarriage of justice — his execution would have been a moral outrage.”
Scott Greene of Duncan’s long-time pro bono team at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP also spoke on the matter, saying, “Duncan is one step closer to the life stripped away from him so many years ago, and we are committed to reaching the moment when he walks as a fully free, innocent man.”
Duncan’s bail received an overflowing amount of positivity and happiness, both from his family and many of Haley’s surviving relatives, including her mother. “(Duncan) had no criminal history — much less of the heinous acts for which he was wrongfully convicted. Adding to his lack of a past criminal record, his role as a GED tutor for others on death row, and his longtime devotion to the prison ministry program highlight the positive influence (Duncan) has had during his three decades of incarceration,” the Innocence Project notes.
The trial held in 1998 had been an utter failure in attempting to bring justice to the death of Haley Oliveaux, resulting in the injustice of two individuals. The Innocence Project reports the “jury never saw the stark evidence of forensic fraud, including a videotape of Dr. West using a mold of (Duncan’s) teeth to create the ‘bite marks’ on Haley’s body that were ‘matched’ to (Duncan) at trial.”
The state has formally appealed the decision recognizing Duncan as factually innocent and vacating his conviction. This appeal will be presented to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear the case in early 2026.
Before her death, Haley had a medical history of seizures and head injuries, the last of which resulted in skull fractures and a week’s hospitalization. The Innocence Project revealed that “these injuries increased her risk of subsequent seizures, which could be triggered by, among other things, warm baths. However, none of this information demonstrating the accidental nature of her drowning was presented at (Duncan’s) trial.”
Haley’s body was then transported to Jackson, Miss., to be autopsied by Dr. Steven Timothy Hayne and forensic “odontologist” Dr. Michael West, where they claimed Haley had potential bite marks from being bitten and sexually assaulted “at or about the time of death” by Duncan.
“In a shocking video-taped experiment the following day, Dr. West pressed molds of (Duncan’s) teeth into Haley’s body — creating the ‘bite marks’ later ‘matched’ to (Duncan’s) teeth at trial.” The damning video evidence was never seen by the jury.
Two board-certified forensic pathologists testified at the 2024 hearing that Dr. Hayne’s autopsy was performed carelessly, superficially, and went against accepted standards. They also stated his conclusions were false and lacked scientific support.
Now, Duncan’s case is a stark example of how unreliable forensic evidence can lead to a wrongful conviction. Alongside nine wrongfully convicted individuals who have spent more than a century incarcerated, he was the “only person still on death row as a result of the flawed testimony of Drs. Hayne and West,” the Innocence Project emphasizes.
“Indeed, there are at least 39 documented wrongful convictions and indictments in the U.S. attributable to the discredited technique of bite mark matching. Even non-fraudulent bite mark evidence has been exposed as junk science since the time of Mr. Duncan’s trial.”
Aside from the fabricated forensic evidence, jailhouse informant testimony was a leading contributing factor in Duncan’s case.
A man who had been incarcerated with Duncan testified that Duncan confessed to the alleged crime. Duncan’s pro bono team later discovered that the informant had asked the state for leniency on his own criminal charges in exchange for trial testimony. This information was not shared with Duncan’s trial lawyers or the jury. Additionally, another witness present during the alleged confession confirmed Duncan did not confess.
“The promise or expectation of receiving leniency or other benefits in exchange for testimony creates a strong incentive for witnesses to lie and has played a role in 19 percent of the Innocence Project’s exonerations and releases to date. In many cases like this one, these benefits are never disclosed to the court.”
Through the determination of the Innocence Project team and the court to prove Duncan’s innocence — and the decision to grant bail on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025 — the ruling “represents a significant step toward Mr. Duncan’s complete exoneration.”
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