The exonerated prisoner kicked out of office by Republicans – podcast

Calvin Duncan spent 28 years in a notorious Louisiana prison for a murder he didn’t commit. After he was finally exonerated, he decided to run for an administrative role that would allow him to help inmates gain much-needed access to their criminal records.

His journey, from growing up as a Black child in one of New Orleans’ poorest and most violent neighbourhoods to this moment, at 64 years old, pledging to serve the people and ensure others didn’t suffer the same injustices, was extraordinary.

But a Republican plot to keep him from taking up that role ended his incredibly short-lived political career. Olly Laughland tells Annie Kelly why Calvin’s story is indicative of what he’s calling “competitive authoritarianism” in Trump 2.0.

Photograph: Chris Granger/AP