What do you think?
Rate this book
The Jailhouse Lawyer
A searing and ultimately hopeful account of Calvin Duncan, “the most extraordinary jailhouse lawyer of our time” (Sister Helen Prejean), and his thirty-year path through Angola after a wrongful murder conviction, his coming-of-age as a legal mind while imprisoned, and his continued advocacy for those on the inside
Calvin Duncan was nineteen when he was incarcerated for a 1981 New Orleans murder he didn’t commit. The victim of a wildly incompetent public defense system and a badly compromised witness, Duncan was left to rot in the waking nightmare of confinement. Armed with little education, he took matters into his own hands.
At twenty-one, he filed his first motion from “Motion for a Law Book,” which launched his highly successful, self-taught, legal career. Trapped within this wholly corrupted system, Calvin became a legal advocate for himself and his fellow prisoners as an Inmate Counsel at the infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola. Literature sustained his hope, as he learned the law in its shadow.
During his decades of incarceration, Calvin helped hundreds of other prisoners navigate their cases, advocating for those the state had long since written off. He taught a class in the midst of Angola to empower other incarcerated men to fight for their own justice under the law. But his own case remained stalled. A defense lawyer once responded to Calvin’s request for “You are not a person.”
Prison reform advocate Sophie Cull met Duncan after he was finally released from prison; Calvin began to tell her his story. Together, they've written a bracing condemnation of the criminal justice system, and an intimate portrait of a heroic and brilliant man’s resilience in the face of injustice.
Calvin Duncan was nineteen when he was incarcerated for a 1981 New Orleans murder he didn’t commit. The victim of a wildly incompetent public defense system and a badly compromised witness, Duncan was left to rot in the waking nightmare of confinement. Armed with little education, he took matters into his own hands.
At twenty-one, he filed his first motion from “Motion for a Law Book,” which launched his highly successful, self-taught, legal career. Trapped within this wholly corrupted system, Calvin became a legal advocate for himself and his fellow prisoners as an Inmate Counsel at the infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola. Literature sustained his hope, as he learned the law in its shadow.
During his decades of incarceration, Calvin helped hundreds of other prisoners navigate their cases, advocating for those the state had long since written off. He taught a class in the midst of Angola to empower other incarcerated men to fight for their own justice under the law. But his own case remained stalled. A defense lawyer once responded to Calvin’s request for “You are not a person.”
Prison reform advocate Sophie Cull met Duncan after he was finally released from prison; Calvin began to tell her his story. Together, they've written a bracing condemnation of the criminal justice system, and an intimate portrait of a heroic and brilliant man’s resilience in the face of injustice.
400 pages, Hardcover
Published July 8, 2025
166 people are currently reading
4870 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
July 24, 2025
This should be essential reading for all law students. The resilience of this man, who entered prison essentially unable to read and transformed himself through sheer force of will into such an effective advocate that the founder of the Innocence Project came to HIM for legal advice, is unfathomable to me. We lawyers think that we’re making the law and pushing precedent forward, but this book is a reminder that the real people on the vanguard of criminal law are the people who suffer at its hands and who never give up and never stop looking for creative ways to find freedom. I’m so moved by Calvin’s work, his words, and his dedication to a legal system that honestly doesn’t deserve him.
August 11, 2025
Heart wrenching and unputdownable. Calvin Duncan is a brilliant and brave man who persevered and pushed through a trauma that no person should ever have to endure. This book shines a light on our corrupt criminal justice system in the U.S., and how it is built upon systemic racism. His resilience and dedication to helping others should be celebrated, but what he went through as an innocent man cannot be forgotten.
July 12, 2025
A well written account of one man’s struggle to exonerate himself after a wrongful conviction for a murder he did not commit. The book sheds light on our very flawed criminal justice system, especially here in Louisiana and the despicable way those who control the system work to cover up their mistakes and the truth in many cases, not to mention the failure of the appellate system that is supposed to regulate this mess.
As a man who is very passionately involved in prison ministry, I believe our system is heavily biased against the poor less fortunate members of our society and that reform is desperately needed. As a nation, we incarcerate people at a rate 4-5 times that of other highly developed countries. This system needs to be thoroughly examined as to its effectiveness as well as the morals involved in how it is run.
The number of offenders sentenced to die who have been exonerated is also a very strong case against the immorality of the death penalty that our country clings to and it should be abolished completely like pretty much all of the western world has already done.
God bless Calvin Duncan and those who worked tirelessly to free him and all the other victims of this brutal if not cruel system.
As a man who is very passionately involved in prison ministry, I believe our system is heavily biased against the poor less fortunate members of our society and that reform is desperately needed. As a nation, we incarcerate people at a rate 4-5 times that of other highly developed countries. This system needs to be thoroughly examined as to its effectiveness as well as the morals involved in how it is run.
The number of offenders sentenced to die who have been exonerated is also a very strong case against the immorality of the death penalty that our country clings to and it should be abolished completely like pretty much all of the western world has already done.
God bless Calvin Duncan and those who worked tirelessly to free him and all the other victims of this brutal if not cruel system.
December 1, 2025
Calvin, the man that you are 🥺 I was genuinely moved by his story and everything he accomplished after being wrongfully convicted of murder in Louisiana. His journey, from becoming a jailhouse lawyer to refusing to give up on himself, to fighting for hundreds of fellow inmates..left me with a lot of emotions.
He’s brilliant, and his resilience in the face of a deeply flawed criminal justice system is something that stays with you. I kept thinking how many of my legal and law-adjacent friends, would really appreciate this book.
I loved the flow of reading this and the way the audiobook narrator carried Calvin’s story. The way his life is told here shows so clearly that the people who suffer the most under criminal law are often the ones forced to fight through their own discrimination. We don’t deserve him!!
He’s brilliant, and his resilience in the face of a deeply flawed criminal justice system is something that stays with you. I kept thinking how many of my legal and law-adjacent friends, would really appreciate this book.
I loved the flow of reading this and the way the audiobook narrator carried Calvin’s story. The way his life is told here shows so clearly that the people who suffer the most under criminal law are often the ones forced to fight through their own discrimination. We don’t deserve him!!
September 9, 2025
At nineteen, Calvin Duncan was wrongfully accused of murder (with the wrongfulness of his conviction being *glaringly obvious*). Over the next 28 years, he became a skilled, passionate, and effective jailhouse lawyer for many men in Angola Prison with him, despite numerous setbacks in his own appeals. Through his work and his knowledge, many of the men he helped were able to have injustices in their own cases or in their sentencing corrected. And finally, at last, he was freed in 2011, after serving 28.5 years for a crime he did not commit. (He was formally exonerated in 2021.)
This is a powerful and heartbreaking book. The miscarriage of justice in Duncan's case -- and not by ineptness or incompetence, but by purposeful actions by investigators and prosecutors -- is incredibly upsetting, as is the way his youthful confidence that he will be swiftly exonerated on appeal is disappointed again and again. The book also shows how laws and court cases led to it becoming more difficult for inmates to appeal against unjust convictions and sentencing.
Duncan's story as a jailhouse lawyer is incredible, as he fights for inmates' rights both inside the prison (for example, fighting against widespread abuse in the mental health unit) and outside. I was really thrilled by the epilogue in which he went to law school and became a lawyer. These days he is a director of a program continuing his fight to help incarcerated people have access to the courts, as well as cofounding a program to help recently released people with transitional housing.
What Duncan has done with his life (against overwhelming odds, and in unjust circumstances that could easily have destroyed most people) is absolutely inspiring. And *infuriating* that it was necessary, and that he was convicted in the first place.
This is a powerful and heartbreaking book. The miscarriage of justice in Duncan's case -- and not by ineptness or incompetence, but by purposeful actions by investigators and prosecutors -- is incredibly upsetting, as is the way his youthful confidence that he will be swiftly exonerated on appeal is disappointed again and again. The book also shows how laws and court cases led to it becoming more difficult for inmates to appeal against unjust convictions and sentencing.
Duncan's story as a jailhouse lawyer is incredible, as he fights for inmates' rights both inside the prison (for example, fighting against widespread abuse in the mental health unit) and outside. I was really thrilled by the epilogue in which he went to law school and became a lawyer. These days he is a director of a program continuing his fight to help incarcerated people have access to the courts, as well as cofounding a program to help recently released people with transitional housing.
What Duncan has done with his life (against overwhelming odds, and in unjust circumstances that could easily have destroyed most people) is absolutely inspiring. And *infuriating* that it was necessary, and that he was convicted in the first place.
April 7, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is an incredible story about one man who is innocent but went to prison for murder. He doesn't waste time dwelling on his bad luck but spends his years learning the law and helping other inmates with their cases. He seems like a model inmate and shows there is hope for the future.
This is an incredible story about one man who is innocent but went to prison for murder. He doesn't waste time dwelling on his bad luck but spends his years learning the law and helping other inmates with their cases. He seems like a model inmate and shows there is hope for the future.
December 22, 2025
Calvin Duncan's "The Jailhouse Lawyer" moved me to heartbreaking 😭, angry tears 😡, as I mourned 🤧 his unjust imprisonment in 1981 in Louisiana.
Calvin spent his seemingly pre-ordained time "as a Black Man" in "These United States of America " in captivity, learning the law and helping others suffering needlessly because of the color of their skin.
Calvin's protracted 'Locking Away' from all offspring, siblings, family members, and sense of self-sustaining community life for over thirty-two years due to his wrongful murder conviction when he was just nineteen years old!
Calvin spent his seemingly pre-ordained time "as a Black Man" in "These United States of America " in captivity, learning the law and helping others suffering needlessly because of the color of their skin.
Calvin's protracted 'Locking Away' from all offspring, siblings, family members, and sense of self-sustaining community life for over thirty-two years due to his wrongful murder conviction when he was just nineteen years old!
November 17, 2025
I anticipated this book to be a memoir, so the third person narration initially threw me off and sometimes made me forget that it was non-fiction, but I got used to it. It was weird at the end when it became first person narration from Sophie, especially because it's not her story. She helped write the story but don't understand why she is the narrator. Also, as a non-law/criminal justice gal, there was a lot of legal stuff that wasn't explained that I kinda just pretended to understand.
I'm being nitpicky, overall really fascinating and important story!
I'm being nitpicky, overall really fascinating and important story!
July 14, 2025
Stayed up til 2 AM reading this one because I couldn't put it down. I grew up in Louisiana in the 80s, and my mind is blown by what I couldn't possibly have known back then. The Jailhouse Lawyer is going to be a huge hit.
August 6, 2025
A masterpiece. Absolutely riveting. So proud of all my dear friend has overcome and accomplished and his wonderful generosity of spirit. The corruption and cruelty and evil of the so-called criminal justice system and Louisiana politics are almost too much to bear.
August 10, 2025
It was fine. Book highlights many of the challenges with the legal system - especially access to resources once sentenced. Chapters were way too long.
July 31, 2025
This is a great read. Inspiring!
July 25, 2025
An incredibly frustrating yet inspiring story. Bought and read this immediately after hearing the author interviewed on Fresh Air.
July 14, 2025
Calvin’s story was well worth reading and really highlights that when no one will fight for you, you have to fight for yourself. It’s also shines a bright light on some of the issues within our criminal justice system and the huge disparities that exist between those who can personally afford legal counsel and those who cannot. Finally, Calvin’s willingness to also fight for his fellow inmates is inspiring. 4.5 stars
November 27, 2025
A phenomenally powerful book from page 1. Not many people, jailed 20 years for a crime he didn't commit, could muster Calvin Duncan's remarkable emotional and intellectual resiliance. While surviving decades of unfair setbacks in his own case, he learned enough about law to help numerous others succeed. This is an eye-opener, an unflinching education about the flaws in our judicial system that everyone should read.
December 5, 2025
Exceptional story by a pair of exceptional humans
November 7, 2025
Absolute must read. I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn’t fiction. It was so easy to read and so educational. Calvin is one of a kind and his determination and strength will stay with me.
July 10, 2025
Profound book to understand a life so few understand. So inspiring. I will highly recommend this book to anyone who will listen.
August 1, 2025
A fabulous memoir of someone who was serving a life sentence. I am a criminal defense attorney who works in the appellate and post-conviction sphere, so I know just how difficult and convoluted that area of law can be. The law truly is written in a way to make it next to impossible for someone to find any form of relief after a conviction, even if you are innocent or have new evidence to show the court. The minute I learned about this memoir, I wanted to read it to learn about Calvin's story. I commend all of my clients who are able to teach themselves such a difficult area of law with no 'proper' training, and Calvin was able to do so and help many of his fellow inmates. Truly an impressive feat!
This book is a bit heavy in legal information - there were times when I got confused on the procedural law that Calvin was discussing. I did not find that to be detrimental to the read, but that may differ for those with no legal knowledge.
My only critique was that there were two passing comments about homosexuality that just stood out negatively to me -- he doesn't say anything homophobic, but these statements made me curious why he felt the need to put them in there. sentence
This book is a bit heavy in legal information - there were times when I got confused on the procedural law that Calvin was discussing. I did not find that to be detrimental to the read, but that may differ for those with no legal knowledge.
My only critique was that there were two passing comments about homosexuality that just stood out negatively to me -- he doesn't say anything homophobic, but these statements made me curious why he felt the need to put them in there. sentence
August 11, 2025
What an amazing true story! What a sad indictment of the corrupt state and federal governments and their inability to advocate for the most vulnerable people: indigent, mentally ill, minorities. Heartbreaking!
Read
August 13, 2025Very interesting. Very legal. Man that system is crazy.
September 3, 2025
“The Jailhouse Lawyer” by Calvin Duncan and Sophie Cull
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A powerful work of nonfiction telling the story of Calvin Duncan who served over twenty years at Angola after being wrongfully convicted of murder. Despite the injustices Duncan experiences, he uses the few (and outdated) resources available to him to become an inmate counsel substitute, not only working on his own case, but those of his fellow inmates, as well, and eventually becoming a lawyer upon being released. A reminder to us all that even when the system is stacked against you, there is still work to be done, joy to be had, and successes to celebrate. A powerfully moving story. #thejailhouselawyer #calvinduncan #sophiecull #angola #criminaljusticereform
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A powerful work of nonfiction telling the story of Calvin Duncan who served over twenty years at Angola after being wrongfully convicted of murder. Despite the injustices Duncan experiences, he uses the few (and outdated) resources available to him to become an inmate counsel substitute, not only working on his own case, but those of his fellow inmates, as well, and eventually becoming a lawyer upon being released. A reminder to us all that even when the system is stacked against you, there is still work to be done, joy to be had, and successes to celebrate. A powerfully moving story. #thejailhouselawyer #calvinduncan #sophiecull #angola #criminaljusticereform
June 5, 2025
This book wasn't one of my normal reads, but it's a pretty darn good book.
September 19, 2025
This testimony of Calvin Duncan's life had me alternately tearful, aghast, enraged, and horrified at this person's life struggles and the criminal justice system in Louisiana (and he is a person, despite what Louisiana law and a defense lawyer denied to him. ) I truly admire the resilient, measured responses, and persistence he continues to show as he relates his wrongful conviction, the horrible prison conditions, and the many many rejections by the judicial system he endured in the many years he spent in prison. Duncan is a highly intelligent person who is helping others. He learned the law in prison under very difficult circumstances. He has become an advocate for others. I think he is amazing on many levels. This book is eye opening, instructive, and in the end, hopeful. Calvin Duncan is a model of "never give up".
I am particularly aghast at the Louisiana lawyers (incompetent or simply not caring enough to defend properly) and especially the two judges who judged his case over the years. Judge Parker, denied Calvin's last appeal just before Christmas to be considered because the judge had to leave to go on vacation. I think/hope that judge must have had some remorse and seen the light as he celebrated among his family while a wrongfully convicted man was denied that freedom and comfort by him. Is there hope that corrupt systems and people with power can change?
I then listened to the NPR Fresh Air interview of Calvin Duncan and admire him all the more. As he says so calmly, our judicial system is "twisted". Calvin Duncan is living proof of hope prevailing. This book should be read by every law student.
I liked the audiobook. It made Duncan's testimony sound more authentic, as it is written in the third person "he, Calvin" but the reader sounds like he could be Duncan himself reading it. It just made the book all the more heartbreaking and spirit breaking at times. To me this is a must read book.
I am particularly aghast at the Louisiana lawyers (incompetent or simply not caring enough to defend properly) and especially the two judges who judged his case over the years. Judge Parker, denied Calvin's last appeal just before Christmas to be considered because the judge had to leave to go on vacation. I think/hope that judge must have had some remorse and seen the light as he celebrated among his family while a wrongfully convicted man was denied that freedom and comfort by him. Is there hope that corrupt systems and people with power can change?
I then listened to the NPR Fresh Air interview of Calvin Duncan and admire him all the more. As he says so calmly, our judicial system is "twisted". Calvin Duncan is living proof of hope prevailing. This book should be read by every law student.
I liked the audiobook. It made Duncan's testimony sound more authentic, as it is written in the third person "he, Calvin" but the reader sounds like he could be Duncan himself reading it. It just made the book all the more heartbreaking and spirit breaking at times. To me this is a must read book.
September 15, 2025
Came across this book via the media (I think the author was interviewed) and instantly leapt at the premise. I'm not an expert, but am aware of the many problems with the US justice system, including empowering those who society forgets once behind bars. So I was totally interested in reading how Duncan helped himself and many others, all the way sitting in prison.
Duncan walks us through his life, including how he ended up in prison in the first place and his experiences with the justice system inside and out. Plus his own work in helping others incarcerated with him, and the barriers and blockades he faced when trying to do all of this. At times it is extremely bleak, but ultimately it is a hopefully story.
Can't lie, while the the interview totally had me interested, the book itself was pretty dull. Unfortunately with lots of books of this type, there's a lot of legal terminology, explanations, analysis, etc. Important for what he what he was trying to convey (it's part of the problem, as many don't understand it nor do they have the means to educate themselves) but it does ultimately drag the book down.
But it is ultimately far more important to have a book like this to highlight the truly awful issues and barriers of the US carceral system and how it stacks the deck against some of the most vulnerable. Not all would keep at it like Duncan did, and not many would want to share their story (and understandably so!). But I think ultimately I would have been find with just reading the interviews and media around the book.
Borrowed from the library and that was best for me.
Duncan walks us through his life, including how he ended up in prison in the first place and his experiences with the justice system inside and out. Plus his own work in helping others incarcerated with him, and the barriers and blockades he faced when trying to do all of this. At times it is extremely bleak, but ultimately it is a hopefully story.
Can't lie, while the the interview totally had me interested, the book itself was pretty dull. Unfortunately with lots of books of this type, there's a lot of legal terminology, explanations, analysis, etc. Important for what he what he was trying to convey (it's part of the problem, as many don't understand it nor do they have the means to educate themselves) but it does ultimately drag the book down.
But it is ultimately far more important to have a book like this to highlight the truly awful issues and barriers of the US carceral system and how it stacks the deck against some of the most vulnerable. Not all would keep at it like Duncan did, and not many would want to share their story (and understandably so!). But I think ultimately I would have been find with just reading the interviews and media around the book.
Borrowed from the library and that was best for me.
September 10, 2025
I got this book in a goodreads giveawy. It was free for a honest review.
The story is important.
The writing is compelling.
A young man, or actually a teenaged boy, is accused and convicted of a murder he did not commit. He has an alibi with witnesses, but no one believes them. Through the next decades, the boy teaches himself the law, knowing that a court appointed attorny will not be able to help him.
Many years later, he is finally freed and exonerated.
How could you not love this book?
For me it was the constant racial victimhood. The boy did not go to jail because the system was racist. He went to jail because someone, probably someone who knew him, called in an anonymous tip that he was the killer, which made the cops put his photo in a line up. Then the witness picked his photo. The inmates at Aurora do not pick cotton to humble them by reminding them they are the decendents of slaves. If you just bought a cotton plantantation and need work that will tire people so they are calm in the evening and doesn't require any skill what better job would there be than picking cotton? All through the book are these kind of references. Not even presented as a dark minded conspiracy theory held by some of the inmates, but presented as fact. This destroys the picture of Calvin as a young man who is retaining his dignity in spite of his circumstances and replaces it with the vision of a bitter young man who may be filing writs and law suits as a kind of revenge rather than to help his fellow prisioners.
The story is important.
The writing is compelling.
A young man, or actually a teenaged boy, is accused and convicted of a murder he did not commit. He has an alibi with witnesses, but no one believes them. Through the next decades, the boy teaches himself the law, knowing that a court appointed attorny will not be able to help him.
Many years later, he is finally freed and exonerated.
How could you not love this book?
For me it was the constant racial victimhood. The boy did not go to jail because the system was racist. He went to jail because someone, probably someone who knew him, called in an anonymous tip that he was the killer, which made the cops put his photo in a line up. Then the witness picked his photo. The inmates at Aurora do not pick cotton to humble them by reminding them they are the decendents of slaves. If you just bought a cotton plantantation and need work that will tire people so they are calm in the evening and doesn't require any skill what better job would there be than picking cotton? All through the book are these kind of references. Not even presented as a dark minded conspiracy theory held by some of the inmates, but presented as fact. This destroys the picture of Calvin as a young man who is retaining his dignity in spite of his circumstances and replaces it with the vision of a bitter young man who may be filing writs and law suits as a kind of revenge rather than to help his fellow prisioners.
August 3, 2025
Being a street kid in New Orleans from a dysfunctional family is not the normal path to becoming a lawyer, but hang with this story to see if that could be a possibility. Calvin was a teen crime operator when he was allegedly "near" a murder and was arrested after he had moved away and was on the "rehab road" in Oregon. From the beginning, the investigation was faulty, with very little effort being spent on the "low life of the South". Calvin was innocent, but a sixteen-year-old eyewitness was unbending. Calvin was incarcerated at nineteen and sent to the prison known as Angola, a dark, nasty place in Louisiana.
Calvin began his appeals while searching the law books. It was a passion recognized by the volunteers that kept him in the law library assisting others, while never getting any closer to his hearing. Twenty years quickly passed, and still no hearing on a flawed trial. A Black person in the South from a troubled family had little status and no money, was swimming upstream on ever seeing the light of day. His search of the legal library and his gift of advocacy support for others gained attention, but it did little to assist him.
After twenty years plus, he got to do a plea bargain, which led to his being freed. He was able to gain assistance to enter college and later, at the age of sixty, became a lawyer. A true account of a man with unbelievable patience and faith that truth would prevail.
Calvin began his appeals while searching the law books. It was a passion recognized by the volunteers that kept him in the law library assisting others, while never getting any closer to his hearing. Twenty years quickly passed, and still no hearing on a flawed trial. A Black person in the South from a troubled family had little status and no money, was swimming upstream on ever seeing the light of day. His search of the legal library and his gift of advocacy support for others gained attention, but it did little to assist him.
After twenty years plus, he got to do a plea bargain, which led to his being freed. He was able to gain assistance to enter college and later, at the age of sixty, became a lawyer. A true account of a man with unbelievable patience and faith that truth would prevail.
September 17, 2025
After seeing Calvin's story I chose this book to read as part of our book club where we each read a biography and report to the group about the book.
Calvin's story was very interesting to me. Orphaned and raising his young sister by any means necessary lands him with a mug shot after shoplifting for necessities at 14. Four years later his mug shot is used to ID him for a murder in Louisiana. He is arrested and tried and wrongfully convicted spending 28.5 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. All 28 years he learned the law and helped get other inmates out of prison or off death row. His case would take years and unraveling of corruption and lies.
Even though he was innocent he accepted an Alford plea at 28.5 years to be released for time served. It would be 11 more years before his conviction was over turned and he was completely exonerated of the crime.
Duncan went into Prison with a 9th grade education. After leaving prison he immediately enrolled in Tulane and eceived his BA degree. Then he went to Lewis and Clark University in OR and received his Law degree at almost 60 years of age.
He still to this day helps inmates at Angola with their cases.
My thoughts all through this book and researching his story was every picture you see of him even in prison he was smiling. HOW?? he never lost hope just shows you the human spirit can almost endure anything. Great Book.
Calvin's story was very interesting to me. Orphaned and raising his young sister by any means necessary lands him with a mug shot after shoplifting for necessities at 14. Four years later his mug shot is used to ID him for a murder in Louisiana. He is arrested and tried and wrongfully convicted spending 28.5 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. All 28 years he learned the law and helped get other inmates out of prison or off death row. His case would take years and unraveling of corruption and lies.
Even though he was innocent he accepted an Alford plea at 28.5 years to be released for time served. It would be 11 more years before his conviction was over turned and he was completely exonerated of the crime.
Duncan went into Prison with a 9th grade education. After leaving prison he immediately enrolled in Tulane and eceived his BA degree. Then he went to Lewis and Clark University in OR and received his Law degree at almost 60 years of age.
He still to this day helps inmates at Angola with their cases.
My thoughts all through this book and researching his story was every picture you see of him even in prison he was smiling. HOW?? he never lost hope just shows you the human spirit can almost endure anything. Great Book.
August 28, 2025
This book was read for the Hope square on my 2025 library Summer Book Bingo board. A recommendation from Emily on the Slate Political Gabfest, this book is about a man who was put in Angola Prison for a crime he didn't commit at 19 years old. While there he self studied the law and worked for the Inmate Counsel Substitute Program as a "jailhouse lawyer". While he worked on his appeal he used the role (an official role in the prison) to help his fellow inmates with their cases.
A point I left with is how Calvin is taught early by other studying law in jail on how justice is not given by the constitution, it is given by whoever is the majority of the supreme court. This hits very hard today and has put the book Brethren on my TBR, a book he read about this.
I highly recommend this book. It is very thoughtful about the life of prisoners and injustice done to them by the American government and justice system but also how men like Calvin brought justice and hope to people who had none. Because the book was co-written it could be in third person POV which I liked. The audiobook had an excellent narrator as well.
4.5 🌟
A point I left with is how Calvin is taught early by other studying law in jail on how justice is not given by the constitution, it is given by whoever is the majority of the supreme court. This hits very hard today and has put the book Brethren on my TBR, a book he read about this.
I highly recommend this book. It is very thoughtful about the life of prisoners and injustice done to them by the American government and justice system but also how men like Calvin brought justice and hope to people who had none. Because the book was co-written it could be in third person POV which I liked. The audiobook had an excellent narrator as well.
4.5 🌟
October 20, 2025
Heard the co-author interviewed on Fresh Air earlier this year and put this on my list. Incredible story of a man from a broken home who was wrongfully convicted of murder in Louisiana in the early 1980s and then served more than 28 years, mostly in the notorious Angola prison. During that time, he became an inmate counsel, dedicating himself full-time to reading up on the latest legal rulings to better help fellow inmates with their appeals.
The actual story, of the extent to which Duncan maintains a positive and constructive attitude throughout some exceptionally difficult circumstances, is an inspiring window into the power of the human spirit. And the book of course makes plain all the ways that indigent defendants are mistreated by our criminal justice system. But the book's sub-plots are fascinating too: the prison's newspaper and its role in making positive change, the small humane gestures from guards and other prison staff, etc.
An all-around amazing story, well-told.
The actual story, of the extent to which Duncan maintains a positive and constructive attitude throughout some exceptionally difficult circumstances, is an inspiring window into the power of the human spirit. And the book of course makes plain all the ways that indigent defendants are mistreated by our criminal justice system. But the book's sub-plots are fascinating too: the prison's newspaper and its role in making positive change, the small humane gestures from guards and other prison staff, etc.
An all-around amazing story, well-told.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews