The Innocence Network 2023 -
George Toca claims to be a victim of a miscarriage of justice. Emily Maw and Kristin Wenstrom work at IPNO, Innocence Project New Orleans. The Innocence Network, 2023
23rd April 1984: ‘My brother would never kill Eric; they was brothers.’ ibid.
A few hours after the murder the investigation began and very quickly police turned to George, making him the sole suspect. ibid.
‘The intended victims of the armed robbery picked George’s photograph out of a photo array, and that was all the evidence against him.’ ibid. IPNO
At the police station both the man and woman independently gave a precise and similar description of the person who fired the shot: a description that did not fit Chicken George at all. ibid.
When he sent his letter in 2001 he had already spent 17 years in prison. ibid.
On January 25th 2015 the State Attorney General approached Emily with a radical plea for George … If he agreed to sign a confession for the murder of his best friend, he would be released immediately. When presented with the plea, Goerge had already been in prison for 30 years. ibid.
George accepted the deal. ibid.