Nine prisoners are walking free after being convicted in part on faulty evidence presented by Mississippi dentist Michael West and his pathological partner Dr. Steven Hayne. Seven of those nine convictions involved bite mark evidence, and three of the recently-freed men had been on death row.

There is one inmate left who awaits execution based on evidence presented by the now defamed medical professionals, and state prosecutors aren’t budging about his guilt. All the while, Louisiana had been gearing up for its first nitrogen gas execution, which has since been temporarily barred by a federal judge.

Richard Webster, a reporter for Verite News and ProPublica  has been following this closely, and joins us to share more. 

The 2025 March Madness tournaments are just around the corner, and all eyes are on the LSU women’s basketball team. The Lady Tigers won the championship in 2023, and lost in the Elite Eight in 2024. 

While this year’s squad will lack the familiar faces of Angel Reese and Haley Van Lith, fans will remember Flau’Jae Johnson, who has taken on a larger role with this year’s team. And of course, there’s the colorful coach Kim Mulkey and her unforgettable sideline jackets. 

Reed Darcey, who covers the team for the Baton Rouge Advocate, joins us to look back at  the regular season and offer tournament predictions.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Ryan Vasquez. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. Matt Bloom and Aubry Procell are assistant producers. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. 

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