Longtime New Orleans District Attorney Harry Connick Sr., the father of popular singer and actor Harry Connick Jr., has died. He was 97.1,500 × 1,000

In the flamboyant and flashy style that he was often known for, Connick stepped down in January 2003, staging a midnight second line out of his office led by his son, Grammy and Emmy award-winning singer, musician and actor Harry Connick Jr.

The elder Connick, who was first sworn in as district attorney in 1974, announced on his 76th birthday that he would step down from his post after five terms in office. “This is a sad announcement for me to make,” Connick said at the time. “On Jan. 10, 2003, I will no longer be doing what I like best to do. That is being district attorney of this great city.”

Bold and brash, sometimes combative and with the image of a reformer, Connick’s three decades in office were not without controversy. In fact, some of the cases he and his staff tried continued to make headlines, decades later.

Connick and some members of his former staff were lambasted for mishandling evidence in dozens of cases, leading to convictions being overturned or dropped based on allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. Most notably, the 1985 death sentence of John Thompson was overturned because of prosecutorial misconduct. The U.S. Supreme Court later absolved the District Attorney’s office of a $14 million judgment in the Thompson case, saying the office could not be held liable for failing to train prosecutors to turn over evidence based on a single case.

… He also tussled frequently with judges with whom he disagreed, and was known as a politician who spoke his mind, which earned him supporters and his share of detractors. An example came in a news conference he held with his successor, Eddie Jordan, in 2003. “This city is pretty damn stingy when it comes to the needs of this office and the needs of law enforcement and the courts,” he said, when asked what Jordan’s biggest challenge would be.

https://youtu.be/DJc53wxt5h0