NEW ORLEANS – Almost a year after charges against him were formally dropped in a 1992 crime spree, a man who spent more than 20 years behind bars is seeking damages from the New Orleans district attorney's office.
Attorneys for Robert Jones filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday.
Jones had pleaded guilty to manslaughter after being convicted of crimes including robbery, kidnapping and rape.
But he was freed in the face of evidence that then-District Attorney Harry Connick's assistants failed to turn over information indicating his innocence.
Current District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro declined to comment.
A divided U.S. Supreme Court in 2011 overturned a judgment for an exonerated New Orleans convict in a similar lawsuit. A lawyer familiar with the cases says Jones' lawyers have compiled evidence that could result in a different outcome.
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