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Category
Criminal Justice

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

Louisiana sues Food & Drug Administration to stop mailing of abortion medication

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill escalates her campaign against mail-order abortion pills, suing the FDA over its pandemic-era policy that permits remote prescriptions of mifepristone while pursuing criminal charges against out-of-state doctors she claims violated Louisiana’s strict abortion laws.
by Greg LaRose, Louisiana Illuminator October 9, 2025 Updated December 17, 2025

Whatever we want to achieve in our city can be undermined by the lack of public safety

In recent months, public officials rushed to the microphone to take credit when the crime rate dropped. Will they now rush back to the microphone and take blame when the crime rate rises?
by Judge Arthur L. Hunter Jr.* October 5, 2025 Updated December 17, 2025

FCC postpones long-awaited rules reducing ‘outrageous’ prison and jail phone rates, leaves families paying more

Expensive calls force families to choose between paying bills and staying connected to loved ones.
by Bernard Smith October 1, 2025 Updated January 18, 2026
A prisoner studies vocabulary cards under a desk lamp in his cell, holding one card while other cards and an open book are spread across the desk.

Competing to be the best s-p-e-l-l-e-r inside Angola prison

A buzzed-about spelling bee returns to the United States’ biggest maximum security prison.
by Lawson Strickland September 12, 2025 Updated September 25, 2025

Judge extends an additional 90 days of protection for Angola Farm Line

Order continues for the second consecutive summer. Once the heat index hits 88 degrees, the DOC must provide some relief to the men working for pennies an hour in the prison’s fields.
by Bernard Smith September 10, 2025 Updated January 18, 2026

Reforms resulted from the thousands left to drown in OPP 

The 2005 abandonment of incarcerated people within the flooded Orleans Parish jail complex became one of the catalysts to reform the city’s dysfunctional justice system 
by Bernard Smith August 29, 2025 Updated January 18, 2026

The cry that wasn’t heard could be the cry that lights the awakening

That day, I could hear the baby crying. I could hear Nicholas unraveling. Then the phone went dead. Looking back, I see the baby’s death as an indictment.
by Maryam Henderson-Uloho August 6, 2025 Updated January 18, 2026

The gospel of Chuck

Blessed are the ones who live with vigor | Despite life’s tragic comedy.
by Chuck Perkins August 4, 2025 Updated January 18, 2026

Hell on Earth

Men incarcerated within Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola want relief from the prison’s extreme heat and overcrowding.
by Bernard Smith July 29, 2025 Updated January 18, 2026

Police

Regardless of how nervous this might make a kid, everything intensifies when your family is Black and big, white, tobacco-spitting cops approach your car in the middle of nowhere.
by Chuck Perkins July 29, 2025 Updated January 17, 2026

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About The Lens

The Lens fights to reveal and report on issues that impact the community and the region.

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Most Popular

Jury rules against Orkin for spraying pesticide on New Orleans organic farmJury rules against Orkin for spraying pesticide on New Orleans organic farmJuly 22, 2026La'Shance PerryEnvironment
‘Gag order’: More than 100 Louisiana state employees signed NDAs with Gov. Landry’s office‘Gag order’: More than 100 Louisiana state employees signed NDAs with Gov. Landry’s officeJuly 24, 2026Drew Hawkins, Gulf States NewsroomGovernment & Politics
More than 4 million Americans have lost access to SNAP benefits. Experts predict a higher rate of shootings. More than 4 million Americans have lost access to SNAP benefits. Experts predict a higher rate of shootings. July 24, 2026Fairriona Magee, The TraceCriminal Justice

The Lens
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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For more than a decade, we have reported on issues as well as public policy meant to address the needs of residents. The Lens seeks to focus on the inherent inequality that has created a multi-tiered system. We, at The Lens seek to uncover, illuminate, inform and take part in a forward-looking community. Join us.

 
 

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