The double life sentence of an Opelousas man for two aggravated rapes has been thrown out because he was unable to confront some witnesses, a constitutional right, in the case.

The Third Circuit Court ordered two life sentences against Kevin D. Bolden without parole, probation or suspension reversed and remanded the case to the 27th Judicial District.

Bolden's trial was one of 11 felony cases that went to trial in St. Landry Parish in 2010. There were 2,573 cases filed that year, according to the Louisiana Supreme Court annual report.

The two rapes occurred in St. Landry in 1998 and 1999. Neither victim could identify her attacker.

In 2008 a DNA swab obtained from Bolden after his arrest that, according to the state, experts matched to samples recovered in evidence at the two rape scenes.

According to the Third Circuit, review of the record shows evidence of the DNA matches was the only evidence linking Bolden to the rapes.

Through his attorneys, Bolden claimed Dist. Judge Alonzo Harris erred in allowing the state to use the DNA test results without testimony from the individuals who generated the profiles.

They claimed the error was not harmless because the evidence would have been insufficient to convict Bolden without the test results.

Harris, the Third Circuit noted, believed the issue was one of the weight of the evidence rather than its admissibility.

The appellate court disagreed and sent the case back to the district.

Bolden, 41, was convicted in November 2010.

In January 2010 he was charged with possession of a controlled substance in a penal institution and in March 2010 was charged arrested and charged with indecent exposure and obscenity.