Since prisoners challenged conditions on the Farm Line, state officials have implemented policies making them even worse, lawyers contend.
Author Archives: Nick Chrastil
Nicholas Chrastil covers criminal justice for The Lens. As a freelancer, his work has appeared in Slate, Undark, Mother Jones, and the Atavist, among other outlets. Chrastil has a master's degree in mass communication from Louisiana State University, where his research focused on New Orleans' newspapers during the Reconstruction era. During his time at LSU, he also covered the Louisiana state legislature as part of the Manship Statehouse Bureau. He is a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Posted inOperating Capital - Executions in Louisiana
The doctor defending Louisiana’s controversial execution method
Dr. Joseph Antognini travels across the nation, being paid over $500 an hour by government officials who rely on him to vouch for their execution protocols.
Posted inLens Carnival Edition
Scattershot statutes
Is it illegal to carry a concealed gun while watching a parade in Louisiana? Depends who you ask.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Who will end up paying for Gov. Jeff Landry’s temporary Super Bowl homeless shelter?
State officials are asking the federal government to reimburse $20 million in costs for the 200-bed shelter as part of a Super Bowl-Mardi Gras security package. The state is also tapping leftover COVID-19 rental assistance funds.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Behind the scenes of Super Bowl shelter planning
Emails show that state officials considered creating a shelter in a barge moored in Industrial Canal — and that prominent local developers knew about the shelter long before some city officials.
Posted inEmbracing our narratives
Super Bowl planners: ‘Anticipate any features of the [Lower 9] neighborhood which could be used by media to substantiate Katrina narrative’
This is the introduction to a five-story project, The Lens’ Embracing Katrina Narratives project. Last summer, in July, a group of influential New Orleanians gathered, with hopes of preparing the city for a national spotlight ahead of Super Bowl LIX. Michael Hecht, the CEO Of Greater New Orleans Inc., who was tapped by Governor Jeff Landry […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Towns across Louisiana clamor to build new juvenile detention centers
Local governments request more than $500 million to build regional and local juvenile-detention facilities — and to repair and construct some adult jails.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice to end contract with troubled Jackson Parish jail
Invoices show that Jackson charged OJJ nearly $2 million dollars over the past year to house juveniles in the jail, despite grave allegations of abuse and mistreatment.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Louisiana may be forced to change how it allots welfare money
A proposed Biden-administration regulation change could bar the state from using federal dollars for child-protective investigations, controversial crisis pregnancy centers, and reduce the amount to pre-K.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Licensing a troubled juvenile jail
A year ago, when Jackson Parish opened its new, unlicensed juvenile jail, kids complained of extended stints of solitary confinement, along with extensive abuse and violations. A DCFS inspection supported those claims, but the agency gave the jail a license anyway.