Man who spent 44 years in prison alleges in lawsuit that 1977 conviction was part of a cover-up
CBSN
A Black man who was freed from prison earlier this year after spending over four decades behind bars accused officials in a Louisiana parish in the 1970s of falsely arresting and convicting him to cover up the molestation of a White teenage girl. Vincent Simmons, now 70, made the accusation in a civil rights lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court.
Simmons was convicted of two counts of attempted aggravated rape of twin teenage sisters in 1977 and given a 100-year prison sentence. In February, Judge Bill Bennett determined Simmons didn't receive a fair trial. While Bennett expressed "no opinion" on Simmons' guilt or innocence, he threw out Simmons' conviction. Even though prosecutors believe Simmons is guilty, they declined to retry the case after Simmons' lengthy incarceration, and Simmons was released from prison.
Simmons is seeking an unspecified amount in damages, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. In the lawsuit, Simmons accused officials who worked for Avoyelles Parish in the '70s, including prosecutors and sheriff's office officials, of fabricating evidence against him and suppressing other evidence that could have prevented his conviction.
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