Rhodes v Vannoy

Over 15 years after his original unanimous conviction, Troy Rhodes is finally free. The district attorney's office in XXX decided to decline to pursue charges after Troy's successful post-conviction appeals and release from custody. Learn more about Troy's story, his 10-2 jury conviction, and the violations of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel below.

Troy's Story

In 2003, a non-unanimous jury voted 10-2 to convict Troy Rhodes of armed robbery and attempted second-degree murder based solely on the identification of the victim. With ineffective counsel, a bad identification by a heavily medicated victim and Louisiana’s divided jury rule, Troy didn’t stand a chance of receiving a fair trial. 15 years later in May of 2018, Troy's conviction was overturned and he was released, giving him the ability to spend time with his wife, children and grandchildren while the District Attorney decides whether to retry the case. Pam Metzger told The Advocate, “The ability to have hope and faith and optimism and grace while you’re living under this cloud that says you will die in jail is such an extraordinary gift."