Criminal Justice
U.S. prisons chief insists to Senate panel there’s been ‘visible change’ in the system
WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Wednesday outlined to the Senate Judiciary Committee how she has sought improvements in the nation’s troubled prison system, and fielded questions from Republicans about transgender inmates. “Developing meaningful change throughout the agency is not something that happens in a moment,” Colette Peters, the director […]
Here’s where abortions have increased so far in 2023
Seventeen states now ban most abortions, including Georgia and South Carolina, which have laws on the books against terminating pregnancies after six weeks. Despite hurdles, some patients are still able to get care elsewhere. Abortions increased during the first half of 2023 in states bordering restrictive states and in those with protective laws, according to […]
He fled a traffic stop in Louisiana. Now he’s in prison for life.
Markus Lanieux thought his prayers had been answered when, in the summer of 2021, his attorney informed him that she had struck a tentative deal with the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office that would secure his freedom after 12 years in prison. The 46-year-old son of a sugarcane farmer had been dreaming of this day […]
Court reduces restrictions on Biden administration contact with social media platforms
A federal appeals court in New Orleans agreed Friday evening with Missouri’s attorney general that the Biden administration “ran afoul of the First Amendment” by threatening social media platforms over posts spreading misinformation. But the three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans concluded a lower court’s wide-ranging order barring […]
U.S. Justice Department asks Supreme Court to take up abortion pill case
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday asked the Supreme Court to decide whether the abortion pill should remain on the market after two lower courts issued differing opinions about its use. The case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will likely be the second time the conservative-leaning Supreme […]
Gay asylum seeker held in ICE detention for 6 years on false claims, filing says
A single mother and asylum seeker from El Salvador has been stuck in an immigration detention center for the past six years despite being granted asylum twice, according to court documents. The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana has filed a writ that calls for a federal court in Lafayette to justify why Jessica Patricia […]
Judge rules Louisiana must remove youth from Angola
A federal judge Friday ordered Louisiana prison officials to stop housing youth offenders in the former death row of Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and to relocate them within one week. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick of the Middle District of Louisiana found that conditions at Angola constitute cruel and unusual punishment and violate the […]
Sexual assault survivors can now track their rape kits in most states
It can take hours for a sexual assault victim to undergo the multiple swabs, hair samples, blood and urine collections, and other invasive procedures of a sexual assault examination. And then it can take months, sometimes years, for investigators to process that evidence kit. But now, responding to demands from survivors and their advocates, more […]
Almost all sheriffs in Louisiana are white men. Fall election candidates seek to change that.
Elected sheriffs, among the most powerful figures in local law enforcement, are overwhelmingly white men in Louisiana. In a state with a Black population of more than 30%, only four out of 64 sheriffs are Black, and only one — Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson — is a woman. But this fall, voters will have […]
Louisiana backpedals on deal to pause youth transfers to adult penitentiary
The state of Louisiana on Wednesday withdrew from an agreement to temporarily stop transferring incarcerated youth to a former death row unit on the grounds of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. The reversal came at the end of the final day of a hearing in Baton Rouge federal court on an emergency motion — […]
Trump pleads not guilty, waives arraignment in Georgia 2020 election interference case
ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump entered a not guilty plea on Thursday in Fulton County Superior Court on 13 felony counts that charge him with racketeering for attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. In the court filing on Thursday, Trump also voluntarily waived his right to an arraignment hearing scheduled for […]
Cities are embracing teen curfews, though they might not curb crime
In response to growing public concern over crime, cities and counties throughout the United States are returning to a familiar tool: curfews for young people. Proponents argue curfews curb crime and protect youth by keeping them off the streets. But research suggests curfews are ineffective, and some juvenile justice advocates and experts warn of unintended […]