Damon Thibodeaux
Damon Thibodeaux spent fifteen years on death row for a crime he did not commit.
“My name is Damon Thibodeaux. I spent fifteen years on Louisiana’s death row. You’re asked to go through something and you’re like, well, how can I get through this, you know? They’re trying to kill me. I thought about my son every day. He’s growing up without me. He was there the day I was released, he was there. He’s a good man. He grew up to be a good man. The sad part is, for me, the sad part is I had nothing to do with that. I missed that completely. I had no part in him becoming the man he is. They stole that from me. I can’t get that back. I was exonerated in 2012. The same judge who sent me to death row with the same district attorney in office, was the same judge, same district attorney, that released me. I walked away from death row. I walked away from that prison.”
Upon his release, Damon moved to Minneapolis to start a new life, but he initially found it hard to adjust to society. “Right now, I’m adjusting to not being behind bars, and not being told where to go, what time to go. Getting used to not having chains on. That’s a novelty for me.”
He earned his high school equivalency diploma and became a long-haul trucker. As an active member of Witness to Innocence, Damon spoke about his case and wrongful convictions, sharing his story with religious groups, business leaders, lawyers, judges and even the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
Damon tragically passed away from Covid-19 complications in 2020. He was beloved by the Witness to Innocence community and all those around him.
“My name is Damon Thibodeaux. I spent fifteen years on Louisiana’s death row. You’re asked to go through something and you’re like, well, how can I get through this, you know? They’re trying to kill me. I thought about my son every day. He’s growing up without me. He was there the day I was released, he was there. He’s a good man. He grew up to be a good man. The sad part is, for me, the sad part is I had nothing to do with that. I missed that completely. I had no part in him becoming the man he is. They stole that from me. I can’t get that back. I was exonerated in 2012. The same judge who sent me to death row with the same district attorney in office, was the same judge, same district attorney, that released me. I walked away from death row. I walked away from that prison.”
Upon his release, Damon moved to Minneapolis to start a new life, but he initially found it hard to adjust to society. “Right now, I’m adjusting to not being behind bars, and not being told where to go, what time to go. Getting used to not having chains on. That’s a novelty for me.”
He earned his high school equivalency diploma and became a long-haul trucker. As an active member of Witness to Innocence, Damon spoke about his case and wrongful convictions, sharing his story with religious groups, business leaders, lawyers, judges and even the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
Damon tragically passed away from Covid-19 complications in 2020. He was beloved by the Witness to Innocence community and all those around him.