Innocent Man Freed After 34 Years In Prison
An Angola inmate is a free man after spending 34 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
Attorney Caroline Milne of the Innocence Project in New Orleans said when Reginald Adams was found guilty in the murder of Cathy Ulfers, detectives and prosecutors intentionally withheld evidence that showed Adams was innocent.
If the defense had access to this information, Mr. Adams would have seen a very different outcome at his trial.
"There was prosecutorial misconduct in this case that was intentionally committed by the first two prosecutors that were assigned to this case," Milne said.
Ulfers, whose husband and father were both New Orleans Police Department officers, was found fatally shot in her home. Milne said during her review of the case, she uncovered that the district attorney's office had information revealing the gun used in the murder of Ulfers was traced to two people who are now dead.
"They had all of this information, and they didn't turn it over to the defense," Milne said. "If the defense had access to this information, Mr. Adams would have seen a very different outcome at his trial."
Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said he agrees there was gross prosecutorial misconduct, and the murder charge against the 61-year-old Adams has been dismissed.
Milne said thankfully Adams' mother and siblings are still alive to help him readjust to society.
"He plans to sit at his mother's house and eat some real food for once, and take it easy," Milne said.