A wrongfully convicted man won an election. The state eliminated his office. Then Louisiana's attorney general was indicted, the governor promised a pardon, and the state's highest court intervened.

A state attorney general has been indicted for threatening public officials, the governor has vowed to protect her, and Louisiana is now staring into the abyss of a constitutional crisis."

While the sparsely-attended July 4 fireworks topped off a failed 16-day “American fair” in Washington, DC, a constitutional crisis was unfolding in Louisiana.

Louisiana crossed into territory that few Americans alive have ever witnessed inside the United States — and it began with the election of an exonerated man.

Calvin Duncan spent nearly thirty years in prison for a murder he did not commit. An armed robbery in the Treme left a 23-year-old man dead and his 15-year-old white girlfriend as the only witness. The police had no leads, and targeted Duncan after Duncan’s ex-girlfriend called in a tip. Duncan was held without trial for three years. His trial lasted one day, despite no evidence connecting him to the case, and he was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.

Du…