Cedric Dent Freed After Spending 25 Years In Prison For A Crime He Did Not Commit

New Orleans exonerated a Black man 25 years after he was wrongly arrested and imprisoned for a murder he did not commit.

In 1997, Anthony Melton was shot in the back of the head as he walked through a dark lot in the St. Thomas Housing Projects with his cousin after an argument with the shooter at a store. His cousin only had a chance to look at the shooter for a few seconds in the dark.

IPNO’s Investigators found prosecutors suppressed evidence in Cedric Dent’s trial, including witness descriptions of the suspect that did not match him.

In May 2022, IPNO filed claims for post-conviction relief before Judge Angel Harris on Mr. Dent’s behalf. On August 8th, the State of Louisiana agreed that Mr. Dent’s constitutional rights were violated, and moved to vacate the conviction and dismiss the case.