A Louisiana man has walked free after spending nearly three decades on death row, following a court ruling that his murder conviction relied on discredited bite-mark evidence described as “junk science.” Jimmie “Chris” Duncan was released on a $150,000 bond after his 1998 first-degree murder conviction was overturned.
Duncan had been convicted of raping and murdering 23-month-old Haley Oliveaux, the daughter of his then-girlfriend Allison Layton Statham. In April, Fourth Judicial District Judge Alvin Sharp vacated the conviction after hearing expert testimony that the forensic evidence was “not scientifically defensible” and that the toddler’s death appeared consistent with an accidental drowning. The Louisiana Supreme Court later ruled that “no rational juror” would convict Duncan based on the scientific evidence presented at his original trial.
The case has become a prominent example of convictions built on bite-mark analysis, a technique now widely discredited. Prosecutors had relied on testimony from forensic dentist Michael West and pathologist Steven Hayne, whose methods have been linked to multiple wrongful convictions. Court filings alleged that West pressed a mould of Duncan’s teeth into the child’s body before concluding the marks matched. Hayne has since died, while West has acknowledged that DNA testing has made bite-mark analysis largely obsolete.
At Duncan’s bail hearing, Haley’s mother delivered emotional testimony, telling the judge she no longer believed Duncan killed her daughter. Statham said Haley, who had a history of seizures, accidentally drowned in the bathtub. She accused investigators and forensic experts of creating a false narrative that devastated both families, adding that she was never informed of evidence that could have cleared Duncan.
Innocence Project attorney M. Chris Fabricant told the court that “bite mark evidence is junk science,” arguing it is among the most prejudicial forms of unreliable forensic evidence. Louisiana has a long history of wrongful convictions; more than 200 death row inmates have been exonerated nationwide since 1973, including 12 in Louisiana. Duncan, who was one of 55 inmates on death row at Angola, now plans to live with relatives while prosecutors continue to seek reinstatement of his conviction.
