SAVE Rogers LaCaze in Louisiana

NEWS
2018

US Supreme Cpurt refuses to hear appeal of Rogers Lacaze after his sentence is overturned (he now serves a life sentence)



The high court’s ruling is a serious setback for LaCaze, whose attorneys claimed his trial
was tainted by a judge’s unusual role in an investigation following the 1995 killings. However, he could still pursue separate claims in state or federal court.'
 Read more



Who is Rogers LaCaze?

Rogers LaCaze was born on August 13,1976 in New Orleans. He is the 2nd of three children, growing in a single parent home. One of his brothers, Michael just passed away. There was no influential role model in their lives, but in spite of not having a father figure, they grew as "each others support system", as a team and they learned from each other to be young men. Their mother Alice took them to church on a regular basis and their faith was a foundation on which there were able to stand. Today, Rogers has two sons whom he cherish dearly. His youngest son never saw his father as a free man because he was convicted before he was born. Rogers is adamant about caring for his children and he loves the youth. He desires to give back to the community by reaching out and interacting with the youth helping them not to fall out into the same situation he is in. 



Case summary

Rogers Lacaze was convicted of three counts of first degree murder and sentenced to death in July 1995. The 3 people he was convicted of shooting (with a 9 mm weapon)  inside a New Orleans restaurant were 2 restaurant employees and children of the owners of the restaurant (Cuong Vu, Ha Vu); and a New Orleans police officer, Ronald Williams  --  The State's allegation was that Rogers Lacaze and his accomplice Antoinette Frank  robbed the Kim Anh restaurant and shot all three victims.  Antoinette Frank, was also sentenced to death. 
Neither the money the witnesses allegedly stolen, nor the murder weapon was recovered from either defendant. The State did not present any physical evidence linking him to the crime scene. The jury based in part its verdict on a coerced confession from Lacaze -- at trial, Rogers Lacaze asserted his innocence and that Antoinette Frank's brother, Adam Frank Jr, was her true accomplice.
New evidence and 2 alibi witnesses (never heard at the original trial) support today the innocence of Rogers Lacaze, who was just past 18 at the time, with an IQ of 71, and  no prior criminal record.

Rogers Lacaze's sentence was commuted to life in 2017.




What his lawyers say

Adam Frank confessed to killing a New Orleans Police Officer on two different occasions and was arrested with the likely murder weapon. Phone records demonstrate that Rogers Lacaze could not have been inside the Kim Anh restaurant at the time of the shooting and two witnesses testified in post-conviction that he was elsewhere. No witness ever saw  who shot Ronald Williams and only Antoinette Frank was seen shooting in the area where Ha and Cuong Vu were found.(...) Given the weight of the new evidence of innocence, "no juror acting reasonably, would have voted to find him guilty beyond reasonsable doubt" (...)


What a former law enforcement officer reports (independently)

 When she turned 20, Frank applied to the New Orleans Police Department. Almost immediately, Frank's application ran into problems. The applicant investigation unit discovered Frank had been fired from Wal-Mart and had lied about it on her application. She also scored poorly on two standardized psychological evaluations. The psychologist who reviewed Franks tests recommended a psychiatric interview.Dr. Philip Scurria, a board-certified psychiatrist, evaluated Frank on 14 characteristics relevant to the job of a police officer. He rated Frank as unacceptable or below average in most. In his report, Dr. Scurria wrote that Frank seemed shallow and superficial. He concluded by saying, I do not feel ... that the applicant is suitable for the job of police officer.

(...) a psychiatrist who examined Frank in 1995 and again in 1999 said she showed symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder with anti-social features. According to the psychiatrist, Frank exhibits a lack of empathy toward others, a feeling of entitlement, flies into rages, and is manipulative in relationships.

Read more: Blue on blue: Murder, Madness and Betrayal in the NOPD



What his supporters say

Rogers loves to read and write poetry/expression. His work is phenomenal. He is an extraordinary young man in spite of the trial of being falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. He shares a wealth of information with everyone he encounters. Rogers desires to reunite with his family he loves  and misses them tremendously.






What the media say


In a federal lawsuit aimed at forcing the FBI and Department of Justice to release documents that he says could help prove his innocence in a notorious triple-murder at an eastern New Orleans restaurant in 1995, death row inmate Rogers Lacaze accuses local and state officials of withholding evidence favorable to him throughout the years. Specifically, Lacaze claims, state prosecutors and New Orleans police have suppressed information supporting his claims that it was not him but rather the brother of his co-defendant who helped carry out the killings.(...)
Lacaze's federal lawsuit offers up the role NOPD officer Stanley Morlier played as a witness at his and Antoinette Frank's trials as an example of the alleged withholding of evidence. At Lacaze's trial, Morlier was questioned by the defense about confrontations Williams may have had with Adam and Antoinette Frank at the restaurant. Morlier denied there were any such confrontations.

But at Antoinette Frank's subsequent trial, the lawsuit says, Morlier testified that he and Williams once had to eject Adam Frank from Kim Anh restaurant. Morlier also noted that Antoinette Frank confronted him afterward and said, "You tell Ronnie Williams that when he messes with my brother he's messing with me, and I'll take him out," according to the lawsuit.

LaCaze says he "was not aware of these facts until after Officer Morlier testified in Ms. Frank's trial."

Find out more

Articles

Legal (public)


. Complaint for injunctive relief, 2012
Rogers LaCaze Sr.
35675  D/R
Angola, LA 70712
USA