Criminal Justice
DEBERRY: America promised to learn lessons from Hurricane Katrina, but the events of 2020 say it didn’t
Not long after four bouncers from Razoo Bar & Grill pinned 26-year-old Levon Jones to the ground until he was dead, trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe told an MLK Day crowd at St. Louis Cathedral that because he breathes into a horn for a living, he couldn’t imagine a more horrible death than the Black college student […]
‘You just have to act’: Thousands outraged by police brutality rally at March on Washington
WASHINGTON – On the 57th anniversary of the original March on Washington and in the throes of a pandemic, thousands of demonstrators on Friday joined Democratic lawmakers on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to demand Congress act on police brutality and voter suppression. The event, organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, […]
Governor Edwards wins in one federal court, takes the stand in another
LAFAYETTE — Gov. John Bel Edwards took the stand in a federal court hearing Monday to defend the restrictions on bars that he enacted in July to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Earlier Monday, a federal judge in New Orleans ruled against a separate group of bar owners who, making an identical argument […]
ACLU sues Louisiana over its process regarding early release of prisoners
The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana says the state’s government is illegally withholding information about its process regarding the early release of prisoners during the coronavirus pandemic. The advocacy organization is suing Louisiana’s Department of Corrections for documents related to a review panel that decided which inmates could end their sentences early because of […]
Acting Homeland Security chief defends use of federal force in Portland
WASHINGTON — The top official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday defended the deployment of federal officers to counter protesters in Portland, Oregon, saying it was comparable to protecting the U.S. Capitol from attack. “That’s all we’re trying to do in Portland — protecting a federal facility, a seat of justice,” said Acting […]
Legal challenge to Gov. Edwards’ order closing bars is rejected by Baton Rouge judge
A musician, a caterer and two bar owners who asked a Baton Rouge judge to rule against Gov. John Bel Edwards’ emergency order that shuts down bars lost in court Thursday when the judge ruled for Edwards’ administration.“The court is firmly of the opinion that the governor has exercised his power deliberately, on behalf of […]
Louisiana’s police training task force holds first meeting
The Louisiana Senate’s police training task force held its first meeting Thursday at the Louisiana State Capitol. The 25-member panel, officially dubbed the Police Training, Screening, and De-escalation Task Force, is the brainchild of Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, who introduced he idea in the wake of national outcry at the killing of George Floyd […]
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, […]