Criminal Justice
Louisiana says it’s getting ‘mass testing’ of prisoners underway
Gov. John Bel Edwards said Louisiana has started a “mass testing” program for COVID-19 in prisons weeks after experts said the state should be doing more to monitor for coronavirus in correctional facilities. The state intends to test inmates and staff at the Allen, Raymond LaBorde, and Rayburn correctional centers. The testing at Allen — […]
Court ruling striking split-jury verdicts should mean the release of inmates convicted that way, their attorneys say
Using the term “Jim Crow juries” to describe the divided panels that sent an untold number of Louisianians to life imprisonment, the Promise of Justice Initiative announced Wednesday that it’s pushing for the retroactive application of an April U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared split juries in felony trials unconstitutional. Between 1898 and 2019, Louisiana allowed […]
Amidst COVID-19 pandemic, parents and advocates push for a release of juvenile inmates
Like so many other Louisiana mothers with a child in juvenile detention, Latoyia Porter wants her 19-year-old son home with her during the pandemic. He’s already been jailed for five years for stealing a car, she said, and with the pandemic, she worries about his health. “Treyjon’s had symptoms of COVID, has asked to be […]
How many burial sites are on the land where Formosa Plastics plans to build?
Rise St. James and Formosa Plastics don’t agree about what’s going to happen in the future. The environmental justice group says air, water and soil quality are already awful in St. James Parish, and, if Formosa Plastics is allowed to build a $9.4B manufacturing complex on the west bank, the environment will become even more […]
Forty-two percent of Louisiana inmates tested have been positive for COVID-19
Since the beginning of April, Louisiana has tested about 10 percent of the state inmates that reside in the state prison system for COVID-19, and over 40 percent of the prisoners tested have been positive for the virus, according to data provided by the state Department of Corrections Thursday. Since the beginning of the pandemic, […]
COVID-19 infections in the prison system concern us all
By Andrea Armstrong At a July 8 press conference, Dr. Alex Billioux, assistant secretary of health for the Office of Public Health, attempted to explain why the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) does not provide independent data on COVID-19 in Louisiana prisons and jails. First, Billioux said prisons and jails are not public health risks […]
Two Louisiana law school clinics join ACLU of Louisiana’s effort to curb racist policing
In Episode 2 of the Louisiana Illuminator podcast, Kenneth Polite, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, talks to host Julie O’Donoghue about the decision made by Morgan Lewis law firm, where Polite is a partner, to join with 17 other firms and the ACLU of Louisiana to help people file lawsuits related […]
NOPD not a few bad apples but a ‘bad orchard,’ community group says
NEW ORLEANS — Leaders from the Community United for Change called on U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan on Wednesday to keep the New Orleans Police Department bound to a federal consent decree and not give into the city’s pleas to end it now. The Police Department has been subject to the mandates in the consent […]
Judges forcing in-court appearances are violating the law, disability-rights activists say
Concerned about evictions that are already taking place and fearing an overwhelming wave of evictions on the horizon, a collection of civil rights attorneys, fair housing advocates and disability-rights advocates has asked Louisiana Chief Justice Bernette Johnson to order lower courts to make reasonable accommodations for people who are more vulnerable to COVID-19. In a […]
Caddo Parish grand jury accuses 8 Shreveport police officers of using excessive force
A week after the Louisiana Legislature agreed to study police abuse in Louisiana, a grand jury in Caddo Parish handed up indictments against eight Shreveport police officers who booked two men on drug and weapons charges and running from the police Jan. 24. Caddo Parish District Attorney James E. Stewart said in a Tuesday press […]
House Democrats and 3 Republicans pass George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed a sweeping police reform package Thursday night in response to massive civil unrest over police brutality. The package cleared the chamber largely along partisan lines, with 236 lawmakers (mostly Democrats) voting for it and 181 lawmakers (180 Republicans and one Independent) voting against it. Three Republicans sided with Democrats […]
Local public defenders budget reduced in Louisiana Senate proposal
Update: The Louisiana Senate reversed its initial reduction to local public defender offices when it approved the budget Friday afternoon. It moved back to the original public defender funding breakdown drawn up by the Louisiana House. The Legislature is expect to approve the final version of the total state operating budget by Tuesday. The new […]