Douglas Dilosa

Douglas Dilosa was wrongfully convicted of second degree murder in 1987 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.  While incarcerated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola Doug worked as an inmate legal counsel assisting fellow prisoners with their legal cases, while also pursuing public records requests and appeals to fight his own case.  Based on the information and evidence Doug was able to gather on his case, in 2000 the Federal Court reversed his conviction and he was released from prison in January of 2001.  Although Doug was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing in his case, since his exoneration, he has struggled to rebuild his life.  Despite a college education & extensive professional experience in human resources management and residential construction/development it was nearly impossible to find meaningful employment due to his 14 years of incarceration. Like most of the clients RisingFoundations' serves, during the15 years since his release Doug was been rejected from literally hundreds of jobs. Since 2015 Doug has been working with us to manage residential construction projects to improve the health, safety, and comfort of homes owned by fellow exonerees. Through this work Doug also creates opportunities for small businesses in our incubator to bid on contracts, gain work experience, and earn income.