Louisiana prison journalist found guilty of manslaughter, set free after nearly 44 years

sfgate.com ^ | 01/16/05 | ADAM NOSSITER

[Clintons Are White Trash]

Wow, just think all I could have gotten by with if I'd just written some things. What a system!!

[muawiyah]

Hmmm. Let's see ~ around here if you are doing a crime and kill somebody, they'll put you down. Why is Louisiana so different?

Somebody better see to fixing the laws there.

[Drango]

"I thought the most interesting part of his entire story was, `I didn't murder her, I killed her,"'

Indeed.

[Ellesu]

Most of the time Louisiana verdicts are guilty and they usually give them the death penalty. This was his 4th trial, I am surprised and disappointed with the verdict.

[chatham]

This is a wonderful case for Capital Punishment.
Someone please send this to the Pope, and the US Conference 0f Catholic Bishops.

[basil]

Well, now--the dead victim and her family are probably getting warm fuzzies from this. sarcasm

Of course, since he's been connected with PBS, that makes everything all right!

[pgkdan]

This is an abomination! This is EXACTLY why I'll NEVER support life in prison in place of capital punishment! The murdering scum bag animals get to middle aged and older and everyone strts to feel sorry for them. Bullsh*t! He murdered that poor girl, cruelly and maliciously and he deserved to fry and then rot in hell.

[Mark was here]

Rideau was 19 at the time of Julia Ferguson's death murder.

This scumbag never claimed he did not kill her, and yet the stupid "all-white" jurys could not get it right until there was a "mixed" up jury. I say it was a mixed up jury all right.

[pgkdan]

THis is truly a travesty. He robbed the bank at closing, took three bank employees hostage, drove them out to the bayou and shot all three. There was a man and two women, the man was shot but managed to escape into the bayou, one of the women was shot and played dead and the third was shot and he saw that she wasn't dead. That's when he cooly walked up to the girl, stabbed her in the heart and then slit her throat. All witnessed by the second female victim who was playing dead and all confessed to by poor pitiful Wilbert.

And his conviction is what the NAACP calls rascist! Unbelievable. They cry foul becuase an all white jury convivted him!!! Would the presence of blacks on that jury make Julie Fergusson any less dead? Oh and by the way...he didn't just slit her throat...he damned near sawed her head off.

[Dustbunny]

If he murdered someone, confessed and was convicted, why is the article making it sound as though it was some sort of travisty? Is it because he was a ' journalist' and/or black that it was okey that he took/destroyed anothers life because they were white.

Rideau's advocates have contended that his years in prison have rehabilitated him. Rideau was 19 at the time of Julia Ferguson's death.

What kind of crap is that. He should have been executed. When does 'Julia Ferguson' get rehabilitated?

[jayef]

This POS will kill again. NPR should be forced to spend an entire segment apologizing when one of their cause celbre's commits a crime upon release.

Oh yeah . . . free Mumia!!! GEEEEEZ!!!

[Ellesu]

for anyone is not sick enough over this verdict:

http://www.wilbertrideau.com/

[PistolPaknMama]

Question: How do they know he's the most rehabilitated man in America? He hasn't been out of prison long enough to plan another murder.

Rideau...never denied that he killed Julia Ferguson...and shot two others after a botched robbery...convicted three times by all-white juries, walked free Saturday when a racially mixed jury found him guilty of a lesser charge

It's a new day indeed! Three times a jury found this guy guilty, but only when you mix up the races will you get at the truth after only one try.

helped expose the violence behind prison walls

It's a prison. Did he think this was Frankie's Fun Park for Murderers? All those coupons alone would bankrupt the taxpayers.

Bless the victims' families. They are the innocent ones, jury or not.

[PistolPaknMama]

Ok, so the guy was black, dependent on public transportation and happened to have a handgun he recently purchased -- and really PO'd about being black and not having a car like whitey. Right so far?

There was this bank that happened to be there that had these employees that happened to work there. And this money that working (aka non-parasites) happen to deposit there.

So THREE juries handed down the same verdict. Three, the same as 3. But here comes jury FOUR that says well ahhhhh ummmmm. Jury 4 negates and overturns all findings of previous THREE juries.

If this is a example of the history of the "civil rights" movemement ....I'm speechless. Not to mention MLK who purportedly spent his last night on planet earth in adultery with two white women "F'n for Jesus." (FBI tapes)

[ConservativeStatement]

I hope this isn't offensive to you but the author of this piece has big ones. :-)

[cyborg]

If the idea that he has done his time and should be freed is one thing, but I saw the release on television and people cheering his release is a bit unnerving. Why did I find people cheering a convicted murder's release unnerving???

[ConservativeStatement]

They have all the charm of a wildebeest in heat.

[cyborg]

The prosecution was definately outlawyered. According to the info, he didn't have many years left in prison anyway so it was a matter of time before his release then what? When people committ crimes like that, either execute them or put them in prison for life. I went to his website. He makes a lot of excuses. He wasn't the only black man living in the segregated South. If racism was such an overwhelming factor then what was stopping every other black man? Lots of people have horrible lives, black white and otherwise, and NEVER will ever committ a crime because of it.