Calvin Duncan, a New Orleans man who spent more than three decades behind bars before his murder conviction was overturned, won election Saturday to become the city’s next clerk of criminal court.
According to The Associated Press, Duncan secured 68% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Louisiana secretary of state’s office. His victory marks a stunning turnaround for a man who fought for decades to prove his innocence and clear his name.
“Tonight is a dream that’s been forty years in the making,” Duncan said in a statement. “I hope that all those people who died in prison because we couldn’t get their records are looking down now. I hope they’re proud of me. We never stopped fighting for each other’s rights, and I will never stop fighting for yours. Thank you for this privilege.”
Duncan, a Democrat, was convicted in the 1981 killing of a New Orleans man. While serving a life sentence, he uncovered evidence that police officers had lied in court. His conviction was formally vacated in 2021 after a judge agreed the case had been built on false testimony. He is now listed in the National Registry of Exonerations.
Still, his past became a flashpoint in the runoff campaign.
His opponent, incumbent clerk Darren Lombard, also a Democrat, repeatedly claimed Duncan was guilty during debates and campaign events. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill echoed those accusations, despite more than 160 legal professionals publicly declaring that Duncan had “proved his innocence” and was “fully exonerated.”
In the October primary, Duncan narrowly led a three-way race with 47% of the vote, while Lombard received 46%, forcing a runoff. Even with the backing of the city’s mayor-elect and other political leaders, Lombard ultimately fell short.
“I want to congratulate Calvin Duncan on his victory,” Lombard said after the results were announced. “I stand ready to support a smooth and professional transition so that the important work of this office continues without interruption.”
Duncan’s personal story has made him a symbol of justice reform.
At age 62, he often reflects on how he entered prison with only an eighth-grade education. Over the years, he became a self-taught legal expert, helping other inmates challenge unconstitutional practices. His advocacy played a key role in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision ending non-unanimous jury convictions in Louisiana and Oregon, a system long criticized as a relic of the Jim Crow era.
Duncan says he ran for clerk to ensure fair access to the court system—something he remembers being denied to incarcerated people who struggled for years to obtain even basic documents.
The city’s criminal court system still uses paper files, but officials say a digital system is in development. In August, a batch of court records was accidentally discarded, forcing staff to sift through a landfill to retrieve them.
Duncan says that under his leadership, records will be handled with the care and respect they deserve.
