Criminal Justice
Trump’s possible arrest by Manhattan DA blasted by U.S. House GOP leaders
Former President Donald Trump’s claim that he would be arrested Tuesday had not materialized by early evening on the East Coast, but U.S. House Republicans harshly criticized any such move as an abuse of prosecutorial authority. In an all-caps post to his social media site, Truth Social, on Saturday, Trump predicted that he would be […]
Louisiana spent $7.7 million on death penalty defense. It hasn’t executed anyone in 13 years.
Louisiana spent $7.7 million providing legal defense to people facing the death penalty in 2022, according to the Louisiana Public Defender’s Office, even though the state hasn’t executed anyone in 13 years. The most recently Louisiana has put someone to death was Gerald Bordelon in January 2010, after he waived his right to legal appeals […]
Lawsuit shows growth in surveillance-based police stops, advocates say
NEW ORLEANS – Twenty-five year old Michael Celestine walked outside his friend’s 7th Ward home to take a phone call and smoke a cigarette. Wearing a Tommy Hillfiger puffer jacket on a brisk day in January 2020, he chatted with a friend, walked across the street and then went back inside. What Celestine didn’t know […]
Pandemic stress, gangs and utter fear fueled a rise in teen shootings
Diego never imagined he’d carry a gun. Not as a child, when shots were fired outside his Chicago-area home. Not at age 12, when one of his friends was gunned down. Diego’s mind changed at 14, when he and his friends were getting ready to walk to midnight Mass for the feast of Our Lady […]
Watchdog group questions Alexandria Police training; lawsuit in progress
A national legal watchdog group is criticizing the Alexandria Police Department for its training methods, citing “disregard for the Constitution” based on dashboard- and body-camera footage from a June 2022 traffic stop. Multiple citations issued to the motorist who was pulled over were later dismissed by the city. The Institute of Justice is representing the […]
Prosecutor: ‘Nothing’s happened’ in murder case of Ole Miss LGBTQ+ student
OXFORD, Mississippi – A Lafayette County prosecutor said that “nothing’s happened” in the case involving the slaying of well-known Black, LGBTQ+ student Jimmie “Jay” Lee since the Ole Miss student charged with his murder was released on bond last year. Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., was scheduled for arraignment Monday at the Lafayette County Courthouse but […]
Louisiana police agencies fail to report why most officers leave, database shows
NEW ORLEANS – Law enforcement agencies in Louisiana are failing in a majority of cases to report why officers leave their employment, as the law requires, according to findings from a new police accountability database created by the Innocence Project New Orleans. A 2017 state law requires the agencies to report to the Council on […]
New state utility regulator wants to reduce rates, introduce renewable mandates
After defying the odds to become the first openly LGBTQ person elected to a statewide office, Davante Lewis intends to use the momentum to take on utility giants such as Entergy and move the state toward more renewable energy in his first six-year term on Louisiana’s Public Service Commission. Many see Lewis’ victory as a […]
Louisiana governor says stricter enforcement on THC products, law change may be coming
Gov. John Bel Edwards said Louisiana residents will see a government clampdown on unregulated THC products that can cause a person to get high. The governor and legislators may also seek to tweak a related law about hemp products during the Louisiana Legislature’s spring session. “I’m not one who favors legalizing marijuana and I don’t […]
Need a gun even though you have a domestic violence restraining order against you? No problem!
The Serrano family returned home from a party in the misty early hours of Oct. 30, 2022. Beside Jesus, 51, were his son-in-law, his two adult daughters and two grandchildren. Their evening together was a cause for celebration: One of the Serrano daughters had recently escaped an abusive relationship with Joseph Castorena, who she alleged […]
Ronald Greene’s mother will attend State of the Union address
The mother of Ronald Greene, the Black motorist who died in Louisiana State Police custody after white troopers beat him during a traffic stop, will attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Mona Hardin is the invitee of Congressman Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, whose office confirmed Hardin will be in the gallery of […]
She killed her rapist after months of abuse. Advocates say Kansas governor should set her free.
TOPEKA, Kansas — Sarah Gonzales-McLinn regrets killing Hal Sasko. She also regrets moving into his Lawrence home, where he repeatedly raped her until she channeled a lifetime of trauma into psychotic rupture. On a January night in 2014, she drugged her captor, zip-tied his limbs and slit his throat. “That is the moment that my […]