Image Credit: USA TODAY NETWORK
New Orleans, February 17 (RHC)-- In the U.S. state of Louisiana, a Black man who spent 44 years behind bars was released from Angola state prison this week after a judge ruled he never got a fair trial.
Vincent Simmons was convicted by a nearly all-white jury in 1977 of attempted aggravated rape and sentenced to 100 years. But key pieces of evidence were withheld from his lawyers at the time.
Over the years, Simmons had tried to get a new trial more than a dozen times. While he was not acquitted of the charges, the district attorney has declined to retry Simmons.
Vincent Simmons turned 70 years old on Thursday.
