The Jailhouse Lawyer

By: Calvin Duncan, Sophie Cull

Narrated by: Aaron Goodson, Calvin Duncan

A USA TODAY Bestseller!

Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Public Library

“Duncan’s story is so incredible it strains belief. It is so heartwarming and hopeful that it will stay with you for a long time.” —John Grisham

"This brilliantly told story—at once maddening and miraculous—is among the most powerful indictments of our criminal justice system I’ve ever read.” —James Forman, Jr.

A searing and ultimately hopeful account of Calvin Duncan, “the most extraordinary jailhouse lawyer of our time” (Sister Helen Prejean), and his thirty-year path through Angola after a wrongful murder conviction, his coming-of-age as a legal mind while imprisoned, and his continued advocacy for those on the inside

Calvin Duncan was nineteen when he was incarcerated for a 1981 New Orleans murder he didn’t commit. The victim of a wildly incompetent public defense system and a badly compromised witness, Duncan was left to rot in the waking nightmare of confinement. Armed with little education, he took matters into his own hands.

At twenty-one, he filed his first motion from prison: “Motion for a Law Book,” which launched his highly successful, self-taught legal career. Trapped within this wholly corrupted system, Duncan became a legal advocate for himself and his fellow prisoners as an inmate counsel at the infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola. Literature sustained his hope, as he learned the law in its shadow.

During his decades of incarceration, Duncan helped hundreds of other prisoners navigate their cases, advocating for those the state had long since written off. He taught a class in the midst of Angola to empower other incarcerated men to fight for their own justice under the law. But his own case remained stalled. A defense lawyer once responded to Duncan’s request for documents: “You are not a person.”

Criminal justice reform advocate Sophie Cull met Duncan after he was finally released from prison; he began to tell her his story. Together, they’ve written a bracing condemnation of the criminal legal system, and an intimate portrait of a heroic and brilliant man’s resilience in the face of injustice.

If you need a good dose of hope listen to this

This is one of the most tragic yet inspiring and hopeful books I’ve ever listened to.

It’s mind blowing that someone could spend 28 years in Angola for a crime he didn’t commit—and be so dedicated to helping others fight for their freedom, even when it was an extreme longshot that he would ever get freedom for himself.

His resilience, compassion, and drive to make a difference behind bars and since he got out is amazing

This is more than a story about injustice—it’s a story about hope, purpose, and the power of one person to change lives.

Highly recommend it to anyone who needs to feel inspired.

What an amazing and brave story!!

I want to meet Calvin! What an inspiration. And what a frustrating system that failed him again and again.

Amazing true story!

I met Calvin Duncan at the offices of Innocence Project New Orleans the day he found out that his book would be published! His story is an amazing one and I loved reading the whole story.

An Evil System

The story is about the systematic conspiracy of police, prosecutors and judges to jail black males irrespective of guilt or innocence. The protagonist is remarkable for his perseverance, intelligence and determination to regain his freedom - which he does after nearly 30 years of trying. There are many legal twists and turns along the way. The narrator is outstanding - has a lovely, warm voice, and a somewhat casual delivery which gives the story great authenticity. As soon as the book was over I went back to the first chapter and listened to the whole thing again!

Persevering against the odds

Simply inspiring, not only the lengths Calvin would go to, to help others, but that when hope was almost lost in 2009, God showed up in the mail! No one should have to endure what Calvin did, but his pain was not in vain, having helped countless of lives overcome the injustices within the US Criminal Justice System. May his good works continue and the honorable efforts of innocence organizations throughout the country that fight for what's right, seek justice, and defend the oppressed.