Wrongful conviction of Robert Jones

{{short description|American exoneree wrongfully convicted for rape and manslaughter}}

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| name = Robert Jones

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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|01|26}}

| birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

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Robert Jones (born January 26, 1973) is an American man who was wrongfully convicted for rape and manslaughter, following the murder of British tourist Julie Stott in New Orleans in 1992.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34655025|title=Man 'wrongly' jailed for decades for killing UK tourist|work=BBC News|date=28 October 2015|accessdate=24 January 2016}}{{cite news|url=http://newsonnews.com/story/301015-1344|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031151104/http://newsonnews.com/story/301015-1344|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 31, 2015|title=BBC World News Uncovers Possible Miscarriage of Justice in Louisiana|work=News On News|date=30 October 2015|accessdate=24 January 2016}} He served 23 years of a life sentence before being released from Louisiana State Penitentiary after his conviction was overturned by the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal.{{cite news|url=http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/10/robert_jones_back_in_court_ahe.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031010116/http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/10/robert_jones_back_in_court_ahe.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 31, 2015|title=Robert Jones back in court ahead of retrial in 1992 French Quarter rape, robbery|newspaper=The Times-Picayune |first=Emily|last=Lane|date=21 October 2015|accessdate=24 January 2016}}{{cite news|url=http://www.fox8live.com/story/30572632/robert-jones-walks-free-for-first-time-in-23-years|title=Robert Jones walks free for first time in 23 years|work=Fox8|first=Rob|last=Masson|date=21 November 2015|accessdate=24 January 2016}} After the Louisiana Supreme Court dismissed the state's appeal, New Orleans District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro claimed that the state had planned to retry Jones on the same charges.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-5ad914e1-afed-4e0d-b7ab-754bf3d0b1e6|title=Robert Jones: Locked up for 23 years – when the real killer had already been jailed|first=Aleem |last=Maqbool|website=BBC|date=December 16, 2015|accessdate=2017-02-18}} However, as Jones was preparing for a pretrial hearing that his attorneys said would highlight prosecutorial misconduct in the case, the DA's office dropped all of the charges against him.{{cite press release|url=https://www.innocenceproject.org/robert-jones-exoneration/|title=Robert Jones Is Exonerated!|author=Innocence Project|date=January 27, 2017|accessdate=2017-02-18}}{{cite web|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/09e277003fc34fc68a99e90334e61f3a/44th-birthday-man-cleared-violent-1992-crime-spree|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126201050/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/09e277003fc34fc68a99e90334e61f3a/44th-birthday-man-cleared-violent-1992-crime-spree|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 26, 2017|title=On 44th birthday, man cleared in violent 1992 crime spree|author=Kevin McGill|date=January 26, 2017|website=Associated Press|accessdate=2017-02-18}}

As of January 2018, Jones was working for the Orleans Public Defender as a client advocate.{{cite web|url=http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/courts/article_ce6b9bd6-f7ea-11e7-8763-3b502bc74e19.html|title=Freed Angola lifer Robert Jones returns to Orleans courthouse, this time to help others|author=John Simerman|newspaper=The Advocate |date=January 14, 2018|accessdate=2018-02-25}} Jones co-authored the book Unbreakable Resolve: Triumphant Stories of 3 True Gentlemen, which offers an accounting of his time before, during, and after prison. He also co-founded a non-profit youth mentoring organization, the Free-Dem Foundation.