The New Orleans District Attorney Responsible for Wrongful Convictions – Harry Connick Jr.’s Father
Here’s another controversial figure. Jazz singer and actor Harry Connick Jr. is known for his talent whereas his father, Harry Connick Sr. is known even today for his political success and subsequent controversies. In 1973, he was elected District Attorney of New Orleans after having defeated Jim Garrison, a known Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorist.
After holding the position for 30 years, disaster struck when after a series of wrongful convictions and allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. One of these cases involved a man who served 18 years on death row for a 1984 murder named John Thompson. DNA evidence later exonerated him, leading Thompson to also win a $14 million civil suit against the District Attorney’s Office. The claim was that the District Attorney’s Office has suppressed blood evidence that supported the defendant’s innocence.
As expected, Connick Sr. appealed the verdict, going all the way up to the Supreme Court. In 2011 they voted that Connick Sr. Was not liable while Thompson was stripped of his $14 million award.
So, there you have it. Now you know a little bit more about the people that raised and influenced some of the biggest celebrities on the planet. Which one did you find most surprising? Let us know by leaving a comment down below!
