Billy Sinclair

Billy Wayne Sinclair (born 1945) is a former prisoner at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola), convicted of first-degree murder and originally sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to life in 1972. He became a notable journalist, known from 1978 for co-editing The Angolite with Wilbert Rideau; together they won some national journalism awards at the magazine, and were nominated for others. It published articles written by inmates at the prison.

In 1987 Sinclair cooperated in a federal investigation at the prison of pardons-for-sale during the administration of Governor Edwin Edwards. No charges were made against Edwards but Howard Marcellus, head of the pardon board under the Edwards administration, was convicted of bribery following a state investigation. Sinclair was moved to isolation in other secure prison quarters because his cooperation put him at risk from other inmates. With support from some law enforcement organizations, he was paroled in 2006 to the state of Texas. He had married in 1982 by proxy and lives in Houston with his wife. He works as a paralegal.

In 1963 Sinclair pleaded guilty to a sex offense involving a minor. He pleaded guilty to one count of Carnal Knowledge of a Juvenile, Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:80 (commonly called "statutory rape" in other states) and served one year in state prison for this sex offense. Sinclair is not a sex offender. He was 18 years of age in 1963; the juvenile girl was 16, three weeks shy of majority age.

The law in Louisiana, and most other states, and the federal government, has changed. To constitute carnal knowledge of a juvenile (consensual sex between adult and juvenile), these laws now require that there be an age difference of 2 to 4 years between the adult and juvenile engaging in consensual sex. These changes are known as the "Romeo and Juliet" laws. The Louisiana 1963 carnal knowledge statute is no longer a felony "sex offense" statute. The penalty today is a misdemeanor, and under section F of 14:80.1, a person convicted under this statute is not considered a "sex offender." La.R.S. 14:80.1(F) applies retroactively to Sinclair. (La.Rev.Statute 14:80.1)

In 1965 Sinclair at the age of 20 was convicted of killing James C. Bodden during a robbery attempt in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; he was sentenced to death in 1966. Sinclair had robbed a convenience store at gunpoint. When he fled, he was pursued by Bodden, a store employee. Sinclair turned and fatally shot Bodden while trying to escape.

...
Wikipedia