BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"Michael spent 2 years in jail, for a crime he did not commit, and a crime he's never been convicted of."
10 YEARS AGO, A NEW IBERIA MAN NAMED MICHAEL AUGUSTINE SHOT AND KILLED ANOTHER MAN NAMED URIAH JOSEPH.
"He was confronted, he was threatened, and at that point Michael felt like he had no recourse but to defend himself. And he used lethal force as we have a right to do in the state of Louisiana."
TODD CLEMONS HAS BEEN PRACTICING LAW FOR OVER 30 YEARS. ACCORDING TO HIM, LOUISIANA'S 'STAND YOUR GROUND LAW' MEANS THIS.
"If you're in a place where you have a lawful right to be, and someone threatrens you and you're in reasonable fear of great bodily harm to yourself or to someone else. You have the right to use lethal force in your defense."
ON MARCH 21ST, 2014, MICHAEL WAS ARRESTED FOR SECOND DEGREE MURDER. HIS BOND WAS SET AT 1 (A) MILLION DOLLARS.
"Unfortunately, too often, in Louisiana, judges set extremely high bonds on citizens who are presumed by the constitution to be innocent. And it's like we punish people before they're ever convicted...and that's what happened in Michael's case."
FROM 2014 TO 2016, MICHAEL SPENT TIME IN VARIOUS PARISH JAILS WITHOUT CONVICTION.
"That's 2 years of his life he can't get back, and the reason he spent 2 years in jail is because many judges set excessive bonds."
ALMOST EXACTLY 2 YEARS AFTER THE SHOOTING, CLEMONS FILED A MOTION FOR SPEEDY TRIAL, AND MICHAEL WAS RELEASED WITHOUT BOND.
BUT HIS FIGHT WAS FAR FROM OVER.
ACCORDING TO 16TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY BO DUHE THE COURTS COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN DURING THE PANDEMIC.
"You know COVID...probably 2 to 3 years is where it kind of pushed things back. On a non-COVID environment it takes about two and a half, to three, three and a half years for one murder trial to get into position to try. But no that is very unusual, and it's unfortunate."
ON OCTOBER 25TH, 2023, NEARLY 10 YEARS AFTER HIS INITIAL ARREST, MICHAEL'S CASE WAS FINALLY DISMISSED.
"He's living his life, knowing that he was put in a position where he had to kill another man, and that's not a pleasant thought, and that's not something we take joy in. But I think it's imperative for people to know that if you're defending yourself, and that's what happens to you, that in Louisiana you have a defense for you. And I think that that's what's very very important."
I'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE MOTHER OF URIAH JOSEPH, THE MAN WHO LOST HIS LIFE. WE'RE WORKING ON SPEAKING WITH HER TO HEAR HER THOUGHTS ON THE INCIDENT, 10 YEARS LATER.
IN NEW IBERIA. ANNA FISCHER. KATC TV3.
