THIS IS PART OF “OPERATING CAPITAL,” AN ONGOING LENS DISCUSSION ABOUT LOUISIANA’S RESUMPTION OF EXECUTIONS.
On March 11, 2014, Glenn Ford came home to live as a free man after being released from Death Row at Louisiana State Penitentiary. For over 30 years, he had told every court and every judge that he was innocent of the 1983 murder of a local jeweler. No one believed him.
Eleven years and one week after Glenn’s release, the governor of Louisiana intends to resume executions, starting with Jessie Hoffman on March 18. This will be the first execution in 15 years, the last being Gerald Bordelon in 2010.
Glenn wasn’t released on a technicality or even on new scientific evidence. Instead, it was Caddo Parish prosecutors who pressed for his release, telling the court in 2014 that they had “credible evidence” that “Ford was neither present at, nor a participant in, the robbery and murder of Isidore Rozeman.”
I would hope that people of different opinions can all agree that Louisiana shouldn’t execute innocent people. Glenn’s case helps us understand that proof of innocence can even arrive 30 years after the crime occurs.
Glenn’s experiences also help us understand why the death penalty is always wrong, regardless of guilt or innocence.
The truth is, our criminal justice system is unreliable. Since 2000, Louisiana has exonerated more people on Death Row than it has executed. The courts were convinced that Glenn was guilty…until prosecutors said that he wasn’t. The same is true for Glenn’s friend from death row, John “JT” Thompson, who was exonerated after 14 years on death row.
Over and over, our criminal justice system gets it wrong. One study indicates that over 80% of Louisiana death sentences have been reversed. Police may have obtained evidence illegally or coerced a false confession. In some cases, people had incompetent and unqualified lawyers. In others, prosecutors illegally withheld evidence. The lead prosecutor in Glenn’s case, Marty Stroud, publicly apologized, indicating he was more interested in “winning” than in justice.
“Winning” in Louisiana can now result in a person cruelly being gassed to death. Approved in the state’s 2024 special legislative session on crime, this barbaric Holocaust-era killing technique is deeply offensive to many. As death by gassing is both painful and prolonged, some states have outright prohibited veterinarians from using it on animals. And yet, Louisiana intends to use on humans what is prohibited for dogs.
Glenn knew what it felt like to be treated as less than human. Outdoor exercise for people on Death Row was only allowed in a “recreation cage,” a small, bare, kennel-like pen enclosed on the top and sides by a chain link fence. Despite being confined 23 hours a day in his 8×10 cell, he refused to go outside for years. For Glenn, the “recreation cage” was for dogs, not for men. He continued to refuse rec time even when sentenced to death, choosing to remember he was still a human being.
Over his 29 years, 3 months, and 5 days on Death Row, Glenn got to know other people sentenced to death. They became his family, living side-by-side in their individual cells for decades. After he came home, he talked about how some of the people on the Row weren’t “right in their minds,” either from a mental health condition or an intellectual disability.
He revealed the compassion and rituals they shared when one of their own was executed by the state. He witnessed their rebirth as people on Death Row learned from—and attempted to atone for—their prior acts. And because he knew the daily bruising pain of spending the rest of his life in prison, unable to be with—and provide for—his family and friends, he also knew that the death penalty was unnecessary. Life in prison was an unending punishment.
Glenn Ford taught me that every chance for life matters. The same state that freed him in 2014 had secured a 1991 death warrant for his execution. Glenn ultimately died as a free man 15 months after his release from cancer. He faced his own death with courage and grace, surrounded by people he called family. More than anything, he died hoping his story could help save the lives of others.
Glenn Ford opposed the death penalty. He knew from his own experience that our courts, judges, and juries can be wrong. He personally witnessed the humanity and redemption of people sentenced to death, including Jessie Hoffman, who has built a reputation for kindness and integrity even within the confines of Angola. This time around, we can believe Glenn and choose mercy for those he left behind on Death Row.
Andrea Armstrong is the executrix of the estate of Glenn Ford. She is also a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law, a 2023 MacArthur Fellow, and an expert on incarceration.
