NEW ORLEANS -- A Louisiana man who spent nearly three decades on death row was released on bail Wednesday after his conviction was overturned earlier this year.

Jimmie Duncan had originally been convicted of first-degree murder in 1998 after prosecutors accused him of raping and drowning 23-month-old Haley Oliveaux, the daughter of his then-girlfriend Allison Layton Statham.

Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Alvin Sharp threw out that conviction in April after hearing expert testimony that the forensic evidence which put Duncan behind bars was "not scientifically defensible" and that Haley's death appeared to be the result of an "accidental drowning."

"The presumption is not great that he is guilty," Sharp wrote in his order Friday granting Duncan bail, citing the new evidence and Du

See Full Page