Billy Sinclair

Louisiana State Penitentiary, where Sinclair was incarcerated

Billy Wayne Sinclair is a former prisoner at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola) in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana who became famous as a journalist; he co-edited The Angolite with Wilbert Rideau.

History

Conviction, incarceration, The Angolite, and marriage

In 1963 Sinclair was convicted, pursuant to a guilty plea, of 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, however, 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 have 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 law 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) [1]

In 1965 Sinclair was convicted of killing James C. Bodden during a robbery attempt in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Sinclair received the death penalty in 1966. Sinclair robbed a convenience at gunpoint, and upon fleeing he was pursued by Bodden, an employee of the store. Sinclair turned and shot Bodden dead to facilitate his escape. Sinclair was captured, convicted, and was ultimately sentenced to death in 1966. In 1972 the Supreme Court of the United States temporarily abolished capital punishment, leading all prisoners who had death sentences to have those sentences commuted to the next most severe sentence, generally, life in prison. Sinclair received a life sentence to replace his death sentence.[2] Sinclair was incarcerated from December 11, 1965 to April 21, 2006 for a 40 year span.[3]

Sinclair and Wilbert Rideau became co-editors of the Angolite in 1978.[4] Rideau and Sinclair became famous for their work.[2] The Columbia Journalism Review once referred to Rideau and Sinclair as "the Woodward and Bernstein of prison journalism."[5] Neither Rideau nor Sinclair had gone beyond the ninth grade in their formal educations before their arrests and incarcerations.[6]

In 1979,[7] Rideau and Sinclair won the George Polk Award.[6] The Polk Award originates from the articles "The Other Side of Murder" and "Prison: a Sexual Jungle."[8] In addition, the magazine, under Rideau and Sinclair, won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award.[9]

On March 17, 1981, a television reporter for WAFB-TV of Baton Rouge, named Jodie Bell, interviewed Sinclair. Sinclair and Bell developed a relationship,[2] and the two married by proxy on June 9, 1982.[10] While Sinclair was incarcerated, Jodie Bell Sinclair maintained his website.[2] Jodie Sinclair advocated for her husband's release for a 25-year period. Charles Jones, a former member of the Louisiana Senate and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, represented Sinclair during meetings of the Louisiana Board of Parole.[2]

Reporting on pardon selling, further incarceration, release

Sinclair left Angola after he admitted that he was a Federal Bureau of Investigation informant. Sinclair reported on a pardons-for-sale scheme, resulting in a scandal affecting LSP and the administration of Governor of Louisiana Edwin Edwards. Ray Lamonica, a federal attorney, said that of the two dozen prisoners involved in the investigation, Sinclair was the only one to voluntarily cooperate. In 1986 the Billy Sinclair and Wilbert Rideau journalism team dissolved as a result of Sinclair revealing his role as an informant. In 1987 federal marshals transported Sinclair out of LSP.[2] Federal authorities feared that Sinclair could be murdered in Angola. Jason Berry of The New York Times said that "Sinclair became a pariah in the highly politicized prison system" and that Sinclair had "a bitter falling out with Rideau."[11] The federal investigation did not lead to an indictment of Edwards; a parallel state investigation lead to bribery charges against Howard Marcellus, who was the head of the pardon board under the Edwards administration; Marcellus received a conviction for bribery.[2] After Sinclair's cooperation, the pardons board submitted a petition for clemency to the new Governor of Louisiana, Buddy Roemer; Roemer rejected the clemency petition.[12]

By 1989,[13] Sinclair filed a $100,000 ($191221.48 in today's money) federal lawsuit against Rideau, concerning the textbook "The Wall Is Strong: Corrections in Louisiana," a University of Southwestern Louisiana composition of magazine and newspaper articles and papers from the Center for Criminal Justice Research of the university. Rideau edited the book, and about half of the book's articles originated from The Angolite. Sinclair said that four of the articles quoted in the book should have his name in the bylines, and Sinclair accused Rideau of plagiarism.[12] Sinclair also named as defendants Burk Foster, a LSU criminal justice professor; Hilton Butler, a former warden of LSP; and Roger Thomas, a former assistant warden. Frank Polozola, the U.S. district judge, dismissed Sinclair's suit, because Sinclair had never obtained a copyright for the articles.[14]

Sinclair said that C. Paul Phelps, then the director of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections, and Wilbert Rideau were the most vocal of a group of journalists and officials who were advocating against his release.[15] Sinclair moved to the Louisiana State Police Barracks,[16] and later, the N-5 Special Management Unit cell block in the David Wade Correctional Center because of the stigma against "snitches" in prison. In 1987 Rideau said that he felt "betrayed" by Sinclair's actions and that The Angolite's credibility suffered with its readers. Sinclair said that a journalist agency in a prison could not operate like one in the free world.[2] Allen Johnson, Jr. of the Gambit Weekly said that A Life in the Balance: The Billy Wayne Sinclair Story, a book co-authored by Sinclair and Sinclair's wife, "paints an unflattering picture of Rideau as a self-promoter and master manipulator of the "outside" media."[2]

Due to Sinclair's actions, the Metropolitan Crime Commission (MCC), a pro-law enforcement organization in New Orleans, supported Sinclair's release; as of 2001 Sinclair was the only prisoner who the MCC advocated for release.[2] Between 1992 and 2001 the State of Louisiana Parole Board denied Sinclair parole six times.[2] On April 21, 2006 Sinclair was released on parole to the State of Texas.[3] He was released from the C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center.[17]

Sinclair and his wife live in Houston, Texas, and Sinclair works as a paralegal for an attorney, John T. Floyd.[2]

References

  1. ↑ United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit 599 F.2d 673, 1979
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Johnson, Allen Jr. "Shared Fate." (Archive) Gambit Weekly. March 20, 2001. Retrieved on October 2, 2010. "He was the only inmate among some two dozen convicts at Angola to voluntarily cooperate with the federal probe of the pardons-for-sale scandals, according to then-U.S. Attorney Ray Lamonica."
  3. 1 2 "Billy Sinclair Fact Sheet Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.." Website of Crime, Courage, Redemption. Retrieved on October 27, 2010.
  4. ↑ McConnaughey, Janet. "Jailhouse journalist is released." Associated Press at The Argus-Press. Sunday December 24, 2000. 8A. Retrieved from Google News (5 of 25) on October 7, 2010. "Under Rideau and Billy Sinclair who became coeditor in 1978 [...]
  5. ↑ Johnson, Allen, Jr. "Keys To Freedom." The Gambit. March 13, 2001. Retrieved on February 20, 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Press: Jail Journal." TIME. Monday March 10, 1980.
  7. ↑ Crider, Billy. "Prison Success Story." Associated Press at The Evening Independent. Friday March 7, 1980. 3A. Retrieved from Google Books (3 of 58) on October 27, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Award-winning writer says his talent keeps him in cell." Associated Press at The Deseret News. Thursday April 19, 1990. A3. Retrieved from Google News Page 2 of 28 on October 19, 2010.
  9. ↑ "U.S. APPEALS COURT THROWS OUT 1961 CONVICTION OF KILLER WHO BECAME A JOURNALIST IN PRISON." Associated Press at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 23, 2000. News 17. Retrieved on October 27, 2010. "Under Rideau and Billy Wayne Sinclair, who became co-editor in 1978, the magazine won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and the American Bar[...]"
  10. ↑ "About The Authors Archived May 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.." Website of Crime, Courage, Redemption. Retrieved on October 27, 2010.
  11. ↑ Berry, Jason. "Good Behavior." The New York Times. February 11, 2001. 2. Retrieved on October 28, 2010.
  12. 1 2 Foster, Mary. "Prison Journalists Clash Over Who Wrote What." Associated Press at the Los Angeles Times. January 7, 1990. Retrieved on November 12, 2010.
  13. ↑ Foster, Mary. "Award-Winning Prison Writers Fall Out." Associated Press at the Schenectady Gazette. November 22, 1989. B8. Retrieved from Google News (47 of 74) on November 12, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Inmate plagiarism suit dismissed." The Advocate. February 13, 1991. Retrieved on February 19, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Pardon-for-sale inmate informant says decision costly." The Advocate. January 21, 1990. Retrieved on October 28, 2010. "Sinclair said he believes that Rideau and Phelps are the most vocal of a larger faction of public officials and journalists who have blocked his chances for[...]"
  16. ↑ Sinclair, Billy and Jodie Sinclair. A Life in the Balance: the Billy Wayne Sinclair Story. Arcade Publishing, 2000. 283. Retrieved from Google Books on October 28, 2010. ISBN 1-55970-555-8, ISBN 978-1-55970-555-4
  17. ↑ Kern, Emily. "Convicted killer Billy Wayne Sinclair freed from prison." The Advocate. April 25, 2006. A1. Retrieved on October 28, 2010. "Sinclair was released from Phelps shortly before 530 p.m. Monday Henderson said[...]"

External links

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