Debtors’ prisons may be illegal, but they’re alive and well in Louisiana
Effectively, the system jails people because they are poor, which is neither legal nor just.
Category
Criminal Justice
Asking why and how, and what needs to be done.
Crime remains a problem in New Orleans, but feds have done plenty to fight it
Obama revived a program that funds the hiring of cops. New Orleans has gotten about $7 million.
Friday budget meeting with sheriff offers preview of next week’s citizen meetings
As is his custom, Mayor Mitch Landrieu to seek budget input from hearings in each council district.
Executions on hold for at least a year as Louisiana sorts out death penalty method
The ruling delays a child-killer’s execution, as well as four others on death row.
Landrieu administration wants to fast-track staffing changes at 911 center
But Communication District officials say it will be hard to make the Jan. 1. deadline.
NOPD review of sex-crime and child-abuse cases shows policy violations, broadens to include supervisors
But the NOPD says many of the cases flagged by the Inspector General were sex-offender checks, not criminal complaints.
Court monitor describes why NOPD supervisors aren’t overseeing officers properly
A federal judge has set a new deadline in July to meet certain benchmarks.
Live blog Thursday: Federal court hearing focuses on supervisors’ oversight at NOPD
We'll be in court at 1:30 p.m. CT. Follow along here.
New Orleans officials work to keep juveniles out of Orleans Parish Prison as they await trial
Officials say the juvenile facility is the best place for most young defendants, even if they're charged with serious felonies in Criminal District Court. An ordinance before the City Council would require juveniles to await trial in the Youth Study Center, not OPP.
Try to imagine full-throated apologies from the prosecutors axed in ‘Commentgate’
Much remains mysterious about the ethical rot that led federal prosecutors to indulge in anonymous online chatter.
