Attorney General Liz Murrill, Orleans DA Jason Williams clash over post-conviction deals (2024)

District attorneys in Louisiana have long crafted deals with state prisoners to reduce their convictions or sentences years after the fact, with the blessings of a judge.

Those “post-conviction” plea deals were sporadic, and often accompanied by stark evidence of an unfair trial or excessive prison term.

Then, Jason Williams became district attorney in New Orleans and made them routine.

Since Williams took office in 2021 and stood up a civil rights division with the express goal of righting past wrongs, the unit has generated relief for hundreds of Louisiana prisoners, including many who have gone free from life terms.

Just how many is uncertain. Williams’ office has rebuffed requests for records of those cases, calling them protected “work product.” An online dashboard claims the civil rights division has helped vacate some 150 convictions and reduce sentences in at least 180 cases, though it hasn't been updated lately.

But that systematic, first-of-its kind effort in Louisiana drew heavy fire this year during Gov. Jeff Landry’s special legislative session on crime, as lawmakers erected stiff roadblocks to future deals.

Act 10, which took effect Aug. 1, stripped DAs and judges of their ability to waive legal time limits to reach those agreements years after a conviction, while also handing the state attorney general the power to challenge them.

Just how that shift in power will play out in the criminal courthouse in New Orleans is uncertain. But as the new law took effect, critics were busy flagging several deals that Williams’ office helped facilitate recently, suggesting they were potentially improper.

One state lawmaker, Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, said Monday that he aims to convene the judiciary committee he chairs "to try to get to the bottom of why all these releases are occurring.” Morris said he plans to invite Williams to testify.

Morris said he had concerns about a “stepped-up effort” by Williams' office to seal several deals before Act 10 took effect, though he said he couldn’t provide specifics. Even so, Landry tweeted support for Morris's plan to “investigate a potential disparity with post-conviction relief.”

Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office, meanwhile, threatened to intervene in cases in which Williams’ office and a judge “improperly agreed” to a deal.

A spokesperson for the office, however, offered only one case in which it claimed an improper deal. In that case, Williams’ office recused itself and the judge, Darryl Derbigny, appointed a special prosecutor. Murrill's office has filed a motion to intervene in that case.

A spokesperson for Williams' office noted that it was recused from that case in December and said the office had "discontinued any involvement in the case." Williams’ office did not respond to several questions about the civil rights division or the impact of the new law.

The criticism of Williams and his office's handling of post-conviction cases comes from some familiar sources. They include Laura Rodrigue, a former Orleans Parish prosecutor who founded the Bayou Mama Bears political group, who cried foul over what she called a lack of transparency from Williams’ office.

Rodrigue furnished a list of 42 Louisiana prisoners resentenced this year in Orleans Parish, including 16 in June or July. Rodrigue said the data point to an "uptick" in post-conviction deals after the law passed. It's unclear how those numbers compare to the pace of the civil rights division before then, but Rodrigue argued that the sheer volume of deals dwarfs other parishes, creating a disparity.

Rodrigue acknowledged that her father, Leon Cannizzaro, endorsed similar post-conviction deals over his two terms as district attorney in Orleans Parish. Cannizzaro now serves as the criminal chief in Murrill’s office. Rodrigue and Cannizzaro both sat on Landry's transition team for New Orleans.

“There are times when convictions have to be reviewed. And we certainly expect to see times where cases have to be resolved” with post-conviction deals, Rodrigue said on Tuesday.

“But we typically see prosecutors advocating on behalf of the state in order to preserve convictions. Here, we are seeing a DA’s office join in reversing convictions" for reasons she claimed were "not consistent with the law."

Rodrigue declined to comment on whether Murrill’s office ought to challenge other plea deals Williams’ office reached before the law changed.

Andrew Hundley, executive director of the Louisiana Parole Project, which has numerous clients who have benefited from those agreements, pointed to New Orleans’ troubled past, including a lengthy documented history of misconduct by prosecutors and police, and a legacy of reversed convictions. Claiming a disparity with other parishes misses the point, Hundley said.

“There’s an uglier history in New Orleans,” he said. “We should prioritize getting it right, even decades later, over simply maintaining convictions.”