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Category
Criminal Justice

Asking why and how, and what needs to be done.

A stop sign and “gun-free school zone” sign on the campus of Dillard University in New Orleans. Description:

State lawmakers push to expand laws allowing guns on college campuses

“We can trust people with their rights,” says the sponsor of a campus-carry gun bill introduced in Louisiana, as debate simmers nationwide over self-defense versus a greater risk of gun violence.
by Amanda Watford, Stateline March 25, 2026 Updated April 27, 2026

The classroom as first courtroom: Jada’s story

Jada and other Black girls often take the first steps toward the delinquency pipeline in the schoolroom, where teachers too often misread curiosity as sassiness—or as Louisiana law describes it, "willful disobedience."
by Andrea Hagan March 23, 2026 Updated July 21, 2026

The troubling side of public surveillance

The NOPD recently proposed using drones as first responders. Across the nation, cameras seem to be popping up everywhere. But many agencies have few safeguards to prevent abuse by individual officers.
by Jamiles Lartey, The Marshall Project March 20, 2026 Updated March 21, 2026

A year ago, we killed Jessie Hoffman

Jessie represents everything that is wrong with Louisiana’s death-penalty system, which costs taxpayers roughly $15 million a year and has shockingly little reliability in its convictions, due to an 80% reversal rate.
by Samantha Kennedy March 19, 2026 Updated March 21, 2026

The girlhood to prison pipeline: how Louisiana policy fails Black girls

The state of Louisiana is building a long-needed door for women leaving prison. But for girls leaving childhood detention, there is no threshold, much less a door.
by Andrea Hagan March 11, 2026 Updated March 21, 2026
A police surveillance drone flies high above Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans against a clear blue sky.

NOPD floats ‘Drone as First Responder’ model, raising privacy concerns

On Monday, the French Quarter Management District’s security and enforcement committee took the first step toward drone response in New Orleans, as it voted to finance one $250,000 NOPD drone and docking station.
by Joshua Rosenberg March 9, 2026 Updated March 15, 2026

A whisper from Angola: the case of Solomon Birdsong

His hope is for a second chance not to live a life of leisure, but to live a life of purpose under the weight of his past, to test the rehabilitation he claims in the real world.
by Terrance Winn March 5, 2026 Updated March 5, 2026

Two New Orleans men, Wee and ‛Miracle Man,’ feel young but see how prison accelerates aging

Because of decades of high-stress and deficient healthcare, a 59-year-old in prison has a ‘geriatric morbidity’ that's equivalent to a 75-year-old on the outside.
by Bernard Smith March 4, 2026 Updated April 5, 2026

Carnival is a wary time of year for thousands on supervision in New Orleans

Curfews and court rules shape Carnival for thousands in New Orleans who are on probation or parole. Others find themselves self-isolating after the trauma of doing time.
by Bernard Smith February 16, 2026 Updated February 27, 2026

My mom showed her support by bringing me a sweater.

At first, the writer’s mom wasn’t sure if she should support her daughter’s human-rights work. “She was very very cautious. It was really hard.”
by Cristi Rosales-Fajardo February 9, 2026 Updated February 9, 2026

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The Lens fights to reveal and report on issues that impact the community and the region. Staunchly defending the public's right to know and deeply committed to sharing our knowledge with the community at large. We center human impact in all our work.
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