Two teens had gone parking at a park in New Iberia, Louisiana on September 26, 1969. They were in the back seat of their car when a group of Black males claimed to be police and ordered the two to “open up.” The male victim was forced out of the car. The men then took turns raping or attempting to rape the female victim. One of the men took the female victim from the car and forced her to perform oral sex on him before raping her on a picnic table. The assailants went to their own car and left. The victims drove away and looked for police. They spoke to a security officer at the community center, who called the police. The female victim was examined at the hospital. Testing at the crime laboratory would later confirm the presence of semen on the victim’s underwear, pants, and car seat. Blood was found on her underwear and pants.
Though the victims never identified him, Leroy “Bo” White was one of six Black males charged with raping the female victim. Though he’d been at the park that day, Mr. White left before the crime occurred. The female victim never identified Mr. White, but did make cross-racial identifications of others that Mr. White knew. The youngest co-defendant cut a deal to testify and implicated several others in the crime. All of the co-defendants were facing the death penalty. Two co-defendants were convicted, with one being sentenced to death, before Mr. White’s trial.
Mr. White’s mother was told by a sheriff that Mr. White would be released after 10.5 years if he pleaded guilty (known as 10/6). The judge and trial counsel told Mr. White the same. On the morning he was to go to trial, Mr. White pleaded guilty in March 1970. The parole board stopped using the 10/6 rule, however, and Mr. White was left to serve out his sentence of life without parole.
Innocence & Justice Louisiana’s investigation of the case revealed that the co-defendant who took the deal and implicated his co-defendants was severely mentally ill at the time. Biological evidence was found by the court clerk in New Iberia and Innocence & Justice Louisiana filed for post-conviction DNA testing. DNA results identified several male profiles on the victim’s underwear. Mr. White was excluded as a possible contributor.
The state offered Mr. White an Alford plea, in which he did not have to admit guilt while pleading guilty in his best interest. Having already spent nearly 37 years in prison, Mr. White took the deal to gain immediate release. Mr. White passed away in 2016.
