Calvin Duncan (legal advocate)

Calvin F. Duncan (born 1962 or 1963) is an American legal advocate and prisoner rights activist. As a teenager, in 1982, he was arrested for murder, then falsely convicted and imprisoned at Louisiana State Penitentiary for most of 28 and a half years. While imprisoned, and with only a ninth-grade education, Duncan taught himself criminal law, and served as a jailhouse lawyer, helping other convicts get their release. Following his release after a plea bargain, Duncan founded and co-founded multiple foundations to protect prisoners' legal rights, was instrumental in successfully bringing a case to the United States Supreme Court, was exonerated of the murder, earned a Juris Doctor degree from Lewis & Clark Law School at the age of 60, and co-wrote his memoir, The Jailhouse Lawyer, which became a best-seller. In 2025, he was elected clerk of the same criminal court that had earlier convicted him for murder.