In Memoriam

For more than 35 years, Fredrikson & Byron’s lawyers and staff have represented men and women on death row in Louisiana. Damon Thibodeaux was only 22 when he was wrongfully accused of murdering and raping a woman in Louisiana in 1996. He was unjustly convicted and sentenced to death for that crime in 1997. Beginning in 1999, a large team of Fredrikson lawyers and staff, led by now-retired shareholder Steve Kaplan, began to represent Damon in his attempt to overturn his conviction and death sentence. Working with the Capital Post-Conviction Center of Louisiana and the Innocence Project of New York, the team investigated and uncovered evidence that established Damon’s actual innocence.

Damon Allen Thibodeaux testifies before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

After serving 15 years in jail and prison, most of it on death row, he was completely exonerated in 2012. Damon’s gratitude for receiving this assistance and a second chance at life inspired him to always look forward and find a way to give back to those who gave so much for him.

After his release, he moved to Minneapolis and worked at the firm for over a year while he obtained his GED. After that, he began a career as a truck driver, which gave him the opportunity to see the country and gave him the flexibility to give presentations to many organizations about his experiences. He became involved in Witness to Innocence; a nonprofit whose mission is to empower exonerated death row survivors to be the most powerful and effective voice in the fight to end the death penalty in the United States.

Through our work with Damon, many of us at Fredrikson got to know him well. Being wrongfully accused and convicted and serving 15 years in prison for a crime he did not commit could make a person bitter and angry. But not Damon—he was kind-hearted, forward-looking and optimistic. According to his family, those qualities and especially his optimism continued until the very end. Damon died on August 31, 2021, at the age of 47 after a long battle with COVID-19.

“Damon was one of the most resilient, peaceful and joyful people that I've ever been privileged to know. We can only wish that he had been granted more time to enjoy his life and freedom.” – Steve Kaplan

Rest in Peace