Calvin Duncan J.D.

Calvin Duncan grew up in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. He is currently the director of The Light of Justice Program, which mission is to assist incarcerated individuals gain access to the courts. Calvin also provides legal support in capital and non-capital cases to help incarcerated individuals understand the criminal legal system, with a goal of making intelligent decisions to avoid the death penalty and, in some cases, life imprisonment. On January 7, 2011, the Innocence Project of New Orleans secured Calvin’s release from prison after he had served 28½ years for a crime he did not commit. While in prison, Calvin worked as a legal counsel substitute for 23 years. Nineteen of those years, he provided legal assistance to individuals sentenced to Louisiana’s Death Row. Calvin also taught law classes to incarcerated individuals for 15 years. After Calvin was released from prison, he enrolled in Tulane University School of Continuing Studies, where he pursued a degree in paralegal studies. To continue his work in providing legal assistance to incarcerated individuals, the Open Society Foundation awarded the 2013 Soros Justice Fellowship to Calvin. As a Soros Justice Fellow, Calvin assisted incarcerated individuals overcome procedural barriers that hinder access to the courts. Calvin also worked to change Louisiana’s non-unanimous jury verdict law. Calvin is a co-founder of the First 72+, which provides transitional housing for individuals recently released from prison. He is also a co-founder of the Rising Foundations, whose goal is to stop the cycle of incarceration. In 2015, Calvin was awarded the Echoing Green’s 2015 Black male Achievement Fellowship. In June 2017, Calvin earned his Associate of Arts Degree and Paralegal

Certificate from Tulane University. That same year, Calvin was awarded the Pony Award from the Street Lawyers. The following year, August 2018, Calvin earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Paralegal Studies from Tulane University. In May 2023, Calvin received his J.D. degree from Lewis & Clark Law School. His memoir The Jailhouse Lawyer will be published by Penguin/Random House in July 2025.