Death Row Inmate Becomes 300th Person Exonerated by DNA Evidence

Damon Thibodeaux, who has been on death row in Louisiana since October 1997, was exonerated today of the murder and rape of his 14-year old step-cousin, Crystal Champagne, making him the 300th person to be exonerated by DNA evidence in the U.S.  District Attorney Paul Connick, Jr. joined the Innocence Project and Thibodeaux’s other counsel in agreeing to overturn Thibodeaux’s conviction and death sentence after DNA and other evidence proved that he had not committed the crime for which he had been coerced into falsely confessing. Thibodeaux becomes the 18th person who has served time on death row to be exonerated by DNA evidence.