John E. Rousseau collection

This collection contains materials collected by John E. Rousseau, editor of the Louisiana edition of the Pittsburgh Courier, relating to the case of Edgar Labat and Clifton Alton Poret, two African American men wrongfully convicted by an all-White jury for the 1950 rape of a White woman in New Orleans. Sentenced to the death penalty in 1953, Labat and Poret won nine stays of execution, ultimately becoming the longest-serving death row inmates in Louisiana history before their eventual release in 1967. Materials include correspondence, petitions, clippings, article drafts, photographs, and various court documents.

Though a small collection, the materials offer unique insight into the case of Labat and Poret, including correspondence and testimony from the wrongfully-accused men. A twelve-page handscript testimony by Edgar Labat describes police brutality in his home and the police station, torture and coercion in signing a statement of guilt, receiving beatings from the brother of the purported victim, racist treatment from the police, and subsequent medical attention. Correspondence from Poret reveals a developing relationship between him and Rousseau, where Poret asks Rousseau for numerous favors to expedite the case and secure his release from prison.

Notable correspondents include Oakley C. Johnson, Maurice Brooks Gatlin, and Solveig Johansson, whose interest in the case of Labat drew global press and petitions to President Lyndon Johnson and Governor John J. McKeithen when officials at Angola Penitentiary forbade any further correspondence between her and Edgar Labat. The collection also includes research files of John Rousseau and Elyse de Montmollin in her capacity as the Executive Director of the nonprofit organization Council for the Condemned; included are correspondence, photographs, press releases, notes, and a six-page statement of purpose for the Council for the Condemned.

Press releases and notes at various stages of appeal and litigation demonstrate the near-certainty of execution faced by Labat and Poret. These materials also reflect the police abuse and intimidation of witnesses into withholding evidence portending to the innocence of the two wrongfully-accused men. The collection also includes hundreds of signed petitions supporting clemency for Poret and Labat to Governor McKeithen printed from The Louisiana Weekly. These signed petitions demonstrate the far-ranging community support in favor of the accused and read: "In the name of humanity, we, the undersigned American men and women are appealing to you to reconsider the case of Edgar Labat and Clifton Alton Poret who have been under the death sentence more than 12 years - longer than any other persons in the United States. Some information brought out in the numerous trials cast grave doubt whether they committed the crime for which they were tried and condemned in 1953. But, under any circumstance, 12 years of painful waiting in the death cell is a more cruel punishment than any crime can justify."