METAIRIE, La. — Taking his first steps as a free man in 17 years, Royal Clark Jr. walked out of the Jefferson Parish jail Thursday and into hugs and cheers from his family, friends and legal team.
“I’m out here,” Clark said triumphantly. “I’m back out here.”
Clark had served about one-third of a 49 ½-year sentence for armed robbery when a judge threw out his conviction because a fingerprint from the crime scene matched another man.
Clark Jr., 41, was found guilty of robbing a Burger King in Terrytown in 2001. Convicted on his 26th birthday by a 10-2 jury verdict, Clark said he harbors no anger or bitterness about his time behind bars.
“If I let anger be my judgment, it will cloud my views on life,” he said from the steps of Jefferson Parish jail, flanked by his parents and teen-aged son. “As I stand here before you, I can't let anger direct me. I can't let my past dictate my future.”
Clark’s son and namesake, 17-year-old Royal Clark III, never knew his father as a free man. They connected through collect phone calls and infrequent prison visits.
“Honestly, growing up without a father for 17 years, it was hard,” the younger Clark said. “My mama, she couldn't always be there for me. She had to work. It was just me and my brother. Man, it was hard.”
Clark Jr.’s, mother, Catherine, said she was close to giving up hope when a bolt of optimism recently overwhelmed her.
“That little voice came to me two o'clock one morning,” she said. “Time for you to get up. Been up ever since then.”
According to a statement from the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office, “forensic advancements in fingerprint processing” led to the conclusion that Clark could not have been the person who left prints at the scene.
The analysis was requested by the Innocence Project New Orleans along with the district attorney's office. Fingerprints of the likely perpetrator matched a print from a cup left at the crime scene by the robber.
The prints matched those of Jessie Perry, who was convicted of robbing Family Dollar stores on the West Bank two months after the Burger King robbery, IPNO said.
Jefferson Parish DA Paul Connick said his office’s search for justice does not always end with a guilty verdict.
“As district attorney, my obligation to seek justice does not end upon conviction,” Connick said in a prepared statement. “Rather, my obligation is to continue to follow the evidence. When the evidence reveals an individual was wrongly convicted, my office will take action to correct that injustice.”
Kia Hayes, one of Clark’s IPNO attorneys, said, “We all know now what he’s been saying all along, which is he was factually innocent of this crime.”
Authorities cannot go after Perry for the Burger King robbery because the time limit to charge someone in the case has lapsed. But in a statement, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s office said it will nevertheless re-visit the case.
“We have re-opened the case and will be examining any new leads developed as a result of the latest forensic evidence review to attempt to bring closure to the case,” Capt. Jason Rivarde wrote.
As for Clark, he said he wanted to spend his first day home eating some crawfish, chilling with his family and reaching out to friends, including some of the inmates he left behind at Angola Penitentiary.