More than three decades later, a Louisiana judge determined Walter, now 53, was wrongfully convicted for a crime he didn’t commit and freed him from prison on Thursday. Walter was convicted in a one-day trial and sentenced as an adult, serving 36 years in a Louisiana prison for a crime he did not commit. He became the 42nd person exonerated by the Innocence ... Sullivan Walter brushed away tears Thursday as a New Orleans judge ordered his immediate release from prison, 36 years after he was incarcerated for a rape he didn’t commit. A Black man wrongfully convicted as a teenager for a New Orleans rape more than 36 years ago was ordered freed Thursday after a judge threw out his conviction. Sullivan Walter, now 53, used a ... Sullivan Walter, wrongfully convicted as teenager, spent 36 years in prison. The jury never heard forensic evidence of innocence. IJLA secured DNA exoneration. STATE OF LOUISIANA I dissent for the reasons assigned by Judge Ledet. A Louisiana man has been exonerated after spending more than 36 years in jail for rape, according to court documents. Sullivan Walter, now 53, was “exonerated after 36 years, 1 month, and 30 ...