A New Orleans candidate's murder conviction was tossed but the state still challenges his past

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A down-ballot race for New Orleans clerk of criminal court has turned personal and contentious, as candidate Calvin Duncan, who spent three decades in prison before his conviction was vacated, faces attacks from Louisiana’s attorney general and the incumbent clerk over whether he was truly exonerated.

Duncan, 62, taught himself law while in prison and struggled for years access his records. He says that makes his quest to be the city’s chief criminal recordkeeper personal.