Robert Jones (wrongful conviction)

Robert Jones (born January 26, 1973) is an American exoneree who was wrongly convicted for rape and manslaughter, following the murder of British tourist Julie Stott in New Orleans in 1992.[1][2] He served 23 years of a life sentence before being released from Louisiana State Penitentiary, after his conviction was overturned by the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal.[3][4] After the Louisiana Supreme Court dismissed the state's appeal, the New Orleans District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro insisted on re-trying Jones on the same charges.[5] However, as Jones was preparing for a pretrial hearing that looked to highlight prosecutorial misconduct in the case, the DA's office dropped all of the charges against him.[6][7] As of January 2018, Jones was working for the Orleans Public Defender as a client advocate.[8] Jones co-authored the book Unbreakable Resolve: Triumphant Stories of 3 True Gentlemen, which offers an accounting of his time before, during, and after prison.[8] He also co-founded a non-profit youth mentoring organization, the Free-Dem Foundation.[8]

Robert Jones
Born (1973-01-26) January 26, 1973
New Orleans, Louisiana

References
  1. "Man 'wrongly' jailed for decades for killing UK tourist". BBC News. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  2. "BBC World News Uncovers Possible Miscarriage of Justice in Louisiana". News On News. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  3. Lane, Emily (21 October 2015). "Robert Jones back in court ahead of retrial in 1992 French Quarter rape, robbery". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  4. Masson, Rob (21 November 2015). "Robert Jones walks free for first time in 23 years". Fox8. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  5. Aleem Maqbool (December 16, 2015). "Robert Jones: Locked up for 23 years - when the real killer had already been jailed". BBC. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  6. Innocence Staff (January 27, 2017). "Robert Jones Is Exonerated!". Innocence Project. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  7. Kevin McGill (January 26, 2017). "On 44th birthday, man cleared in violent 1992 crime spree". Associated Press. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  8. John Simerman (January 14, 2018). "Freed Angola lifer Robert Jones returns to Orleans courthouse, this time to help others". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved 2018-02-25.


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