Press Louisiana to compensate Vincent Simmons for 44 years under a wrongful conviction
Press Louisiana to compensate Vincent Simmons for 44 years under a wrongful conviction
The Issue
Vincent Simmons was locked up in a Louisiana prison for 44 years and 9 months for a crime that never happened. The state of Louisiana has a responsibility to look this horrific injustice in the face and provide him with immediate compensation for his wrongful conviction.
You can help Vincent by signing and sharing the petition and more importantly by contacting Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry — urge him to take action by granting Mr. Simmons full compensation immediately. Contact the AG @ (225)-326-6079; (225)-326-6757 or 1-877-297-0995
EMAIL: ConstituentServices@ag.Louisiana.gov
After being kidnapped off the streets of Marksville, Louisiana in 1977; shot inches away from his heart by an Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's deputy after refusing to sign a false confession while handcuffed; taken from the hospital straight to trial heavily medicated and needing mobility assistance; and spending 44 years incarcerated for crimes that never happened and everyone knew it —
It is time for Louisiana to provide 71-year-old Vincent Simmons with the immediate compensation he deserves.
Vincent Simmons was wrongfully convicted of two counts of attempted aggravated rape of white 14-year-old twin sisters Karen and Sharon Sanders. As a result of conspiracy built on fabrication and counterfeit crime, Simmons served 44 years of a 100-year sentence in prison.
His two-day botched trial was plagued with racial bias, fabricated testimonies and misconduct by the prosecution, including a the withholding of exculpatory evidence. He was convicted by a jury of 11 white men and a Black woman, who feared her fellow jurors.
For four and a half decades, Simmons fought his conviction, always maintaining his innocence while filing a myriad of court documents, but with no relief until Feb. 14, 2022, when an Avoyelles Parish district judge dismissed all charges against Simmons, vacating and overturning the conviction and sentence, noting that Simmons' constitutional rights had been violated in 1977. The Avoyelles Parish District Attorney declined the opportunity to retry Simmons.
Despite this, Louisiana has yet to compensate him for the years he lost behind bars and the mental anguish and torture he experienced while in the belly of the beast.
Simmons' case is just one example of the systemic issues within our criminal justice system that disproportionately affect Black Americans.
This compensation would not only help him rebuild his life after more than four decades in prison, but also send a message that our justice system must be held accountable when it fails its citizens.
(Video: Vincent Simmons expounds on why he is due compensation for the state of Louisiana knowingly wrongfully taking 44 years of his life.)
The maximum payout for a wrongful conviction by the state of Louisiana is $400,000 — $40,000 for each year of wrongful imprisonment, capped at 10 years. This does not include payouts under federal suits, which could topple millions of dollars. Minus the state cap, Louisiana would possibly be facing a $1.76M payout to Simmons.
https://audioboom.com/posts/8145575-287-jason-flom-with-vincent-simmons-update
This is an independent case, NOT of the Innocence Project
Justin C. Bonus, Esq. remains the attorney for Mr. Simmons
Sources:
- "Vincent Simmons: A Case Study in Racial Bias" by The Innocence Project
- "Race & Wrongful Convictions" by The National Registry of Exonerations
2,431
The Issue
Vincent Simmons was locked up in a Louisiana prison for 44 years and 9 months for a crime that never happened. The state of Louisiana has a responsibility to look this horrific injustice in the face and provide him with immediate compensation for his wrongful conviction.
You can help Vincent by signing and sharing the petition and more importantly by contacting Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry — urge him to take action by granting Mr. Simmons full compensation immediately. Contact the AG @ (225)-326-6079; (225)-326-6757 or 1-877-297-0995
EMAIL: ConstituentServices@ag.Louisiana.gov
After being kidnapped off the streets of Marksville, Louisiana in 1977; shot inches away from his heart by an Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's deputy after refusing to sign a false confession while handcuffed; taken from the hospital straight to trial heavily medicated and needing mobility assistance; and spending 44 years incarcerated for crimes that never happened and everyone knew it —
It is time for Louisiana to provide 71-year-old Vincent Simmons with the immediate compensation he deserves.
Vincent Simmons was wrongfully convicted of two counts of attempted aggravated rape of white 14-year-old twin sisters Karen and Sharon Sanders. As a result of conspiracy built on fabrication and counterfeit crime, Simmons served 44 years of a 100-year sentence in prison.
His two-day botched trial was plagued with racial bias, fabricated testimonies and misconduct by the prosecution, including a the withholding of exculpatory evidence. He was convicted by a jury of 11 white men and a Black woman, who feared her fellow jurors.
For four and a half decades, Simmons fought his conviction, always maintaining his innocence while filing a myriad of court documents, but with no relief until Feb. 14, 2022, when an Avoyelles Parish district judge dismissed all charges against Simmons, vacating and overturning the conviction and sentence, noting that Simmons' constitutional rights had been violated in 1977. The Avoyelles Parish District Attorney declined the opportunity to retry Simmons.
Despite this, Louisiana has yet to compensate him for the years he lost behind bars and the mental anguish and torture he experienced while in the belly of the beast.
Simmons' case is just one example of the systemic issues within our criminal justice system that disproportionately affect Black Americans.
This compensation would not only help him rebuild his life after more than four decades in prison, but also send a message that our justice system must be held accountable when it fails its citizens.
(Video: Vincent Simmons expounds on why he is due compensation for the state of Louisiana knowingly wrongfully taking 44 years of his life.)
The maximum payout for a wrongful conviction by the state of Louisiana is $400,000 — $40,000 for each year of wrongful imprisonment, capped at 10 years. This does not include payouts under federal suits, which could topple millions of dollars. Minus the state cap, Louisiana would possibly be facing a $1.76M payout to Simmons.
https://audioboom.com/posts/8145575-287-jason-flom-with-vincent-simmons-update
This is an independent case, NOT of the Innocence Project
Justin C. Bonus, Esq. remains the attorney for Mr. Simmons
Sources:
- "Vincent Simmons: A Case Study in Racial Bias" by The Innocence Project
- "Race & Wrongful Convictions" by The National Registry of Exonerations
2,431
Supporter Voices
Petition created on May 8, 2023