Court orders bail for inmate after Ouachita Parish murder conviction overturned

BATON ROUGE, La. (KNOE) - A trial court has ordered the release of Jimmie Duncan from Angola on bail after a judge overturned his murder conviction.

Duncan was convicted in 1998 after being accused of raping and drowning his girlfriend’s toddler, Haley Oliveaux, in Ouachita Parish. Judge Alvin Sharp threw out Duncan’s conviction in April 2025.

The court ruled that Duncan needs to be released by the end of Nov. 24 on a $150,000 bail following Sharp’s April decision.

The overturned ruling came following a review of forensic analysis that Duncan’s team argued was based on “junk science.”

Records show the court decided Duncan is eligible for bail pending the state Supreme Court’s hearing, as there was not sufficient evidence to prove guilt at the time of his trial almost 30 years ago.

L