In 1996, Eric Isaac sold one rock of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was convicted of distribution of cocaine by a non-unanimous jury and, because of two non-violent prior convictions, given a life sentence without parole. Under today’s laws this sentence would be illegal.
In 2020, Innocence & Justice Louisiana filed a motion alleging that Mr. Isaac’s sentence had become illegal after a 2018 Louisiana Supreme Court case, State ex rel Esteen v State, made long-ago changes to the sentencing laws retroactive to people like Mr. Isaac. Mr. Isaac walked out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary on February of 2021.
On Wednesday, May 19, 2021 Eric Isaac passed away of natural causes at his home in Baton Rouge. He was 53 years old.
