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Criminal Justice

Federal prosecutors drop charges against ex-NOPD cop in Henry Glover case | The New Orleans Advocate – U.S. District Judge Lance Africk had already granted former New Orleans Police officer Travis McCabe a new trial, scheduled to begin in March, based on the 2011 discovery of new evidence — a draft of a police report on the Glover killing.  

Along with the acquittal in a December retrial of the shooter, former NOPD officer David Warren, the decision by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite Jr.’s office leaves only one officer [Gregory McRae] still convicted among the three whom a jury found guilty in a 2010 trial.

After 20 years at Angola, New Orleans man granted new trial goes home | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune  

[Jerome] Morgan was just a teenager when he was sentenced to life in prison. Two witnesses testified he was responsible for a shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party in 1993 that killed Clarence Landry and wounded two others.

Those two witnesses backed off of their statements during a hearing last October, citing a combination of police coercion and high school rumors as their reason for identifying Morgan as a suspect.

America Is Terrible at Killing People Legally | POLITICO Magazine – The article centers on a Missouri case as fodder in a renewed debate about capital punishment. In a live chat last week, Lens contributor Della Hasselle and Chris McDaniel from St. Louis Public Radio discussed questions about new drug mixes for lethal injections and secrecy surrounding execution protocols in both Louisiana and Missouri.

Environment

Guest Commentary: La. water quality faces big threats | The Advocate – Retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré blames the state’s “senseless” failure to regulate extraction and petrochemical industries as the biggest problem posed to supplies of drinking water in Louisiana.

John Barry on the coastal restoration lawsuit | The Advertiser – In a video interview, editors from The Advertiser talk with Barry, a coastal advocate and Lens contributor, about a coastal erosion lawsuit against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies.

Government & Politics

Louisiana’s coverage rejection means federal tax hike for some companies | Louisiana Budget Project – Large employers would take the biggest hit as a result of the anti-Obamacare politics that have inspired Gov. Jindal to refuse an offer of additional federal funds through Medicaid:

A new report from tax preparer Jackson Hewitt found that businesses in Louisiana could be exposed to anywhere between $41 million and $62 million annually in tax penalties that would otherwise be avoided if the state expanded Medicaid coverage.

State Democratic Party will vote on whether to support east bank levee suit against oil and gas industry | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – Interesting move, considering so few elected Democrats have publicly endorsed the lawsuit. An exception is Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell who said: “The (Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – East) lawsuit is a line drawn in the sand. It asks all of us as Louisianans: Which side are you on — the special interests’ or the people’s interests?”

Land Use

Louisiana Civil Rights Museum would have paid $2 million more for ArtWorks building | The Lens – The chairman of the nonprofit that owns the building said the museum financing wasn’t solid. For more, hear Lens reporter Tyler Bridges talk about the story with WWNO.

Schools

City on a Hill | IND Media – An “epic” culture war is brewing after the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit and claimed a rural high school in southwest Louisiana is forcing evangelical Christianity upon students. 

Hynes eyes possible management of a second school; new playgrounds OK’d | The Lens – “Al Miester, president of the Hynes Charter School Board, said members of the school’s management team have been meeting to discuss the possibility of operating a school in the area of the Columbia Parc public housing development.”

Mark Moseley

Mark Moseley blogs at Your Right Hand Thief. Until mid 2014, Mark Moseley was The Lens' opinion writer, engagement specialist and coordinator for the Charter Schools Reporting Corps. After Katrina and...