Board

Angela A. Allen-Bell—Board President

Angela A. Allen-Bell is a graduate of Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After law school, she spent ten years working at an appellate court and, in this capacity, gained an expertise in appellate law. In 2008, she left the judiciary and began her career in academia as a law professor. Angela holds the B.K. Agnihotri Endowed Professorship and serves as faculty at the Southern University Law Center.

Michele Fournet, Esq.—Board Secretary

Michele Fournet is currently retired from the practice of law. Michele graduated from Louisiana State University Paul Herbert Law Center. She represented clients in a wide variety of criminal defense matters and performed extensive work in capital defense at the state, federal, and appellate levels. She was designated as a top-rated attorney in “Super Lawyers” for 2010-2020.  

David Utter, Esq.—Board Treasurer

David Utter is a lawyer who has dedicated his entire career to human and civil rights. He is also a co-founder of the LCAC and the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana. David also helped launch Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children. David is an attorney with the Claiborne Firm, P.C., representing individuals in a wide and varied litigation practice, including criminal defense, personal injury, employment discrimination, and civil rights. Prior to entering private practice, David was a nationally recognized leader in juvenile and criminal justice reform. He served as lead counsel in class action civil rights cases in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida, and defended adults and children facing the racially biased justice system in Louisiana.  

Lavern Thompson – Board Member

Lavern Thompson was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana and is currently a Supervisor in Environmental Services at Ochsner Medical Center. She is graduate of Delgado community College where she earned an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice.  Lavern is the wife of the late John Thompson who started RAE (Resurrection after Exoneration).  She is a proud mother of four grown children and 12 grandchildren.  She is now the President of Resurrection after Exoneration (RAE) to continue the work that John started and a member to Witness to Innocence.

Joseph Vigneri – Board Member

Joe Vigneri is a former LCAC first chair staff attorney. Since graduating from the St. Louis University School of Law in 1983, Joe has worked as a public defender/capital defender in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Louisiana. He is currently an Assistant Public Defender in the Major Case Division of the Chatham County Public Defender’s Office in Savannah, Georgia.

Thomas Lorenzi – Board Member

Tom Lorenzi is a criminal defense lawyer with Lorenzi & Barnatt, LLC in Lake Charles, LA.  Tom has always been in private practice, beginning when capital appointments were compensated at the maximum low rate per case, including all expenses.  Seeing a fortune could be made on volume with lawyers and staff who would jump at the chance to do this work full-time if given the opportunity, he helped to establish LCAC and later JJPL with the best people in the world doing all the work.  He is a Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, was presented the Sam Dalton Death Penalty Defense award by the LA. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, of which he served a term as president, received the David Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award for commitment, service and dedication to Louisiana’s Indigents from the Louisiana State Bar Association and was named the 2007 Distinguished Attorney by the LA State Bar Foundation.