Bernard Smith and Katy Reckdahl on the men trapped in the Orleans Parish Prison and Broad Street Bridge in the wake of the levee breaches after Hurricane Katrina that flooded New Orleans.
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
The Orleans Justice Center has surpassed the city’s jail population cap, sparking questions about how to increase releases while reducing bookings — and what the rising jail population means for the health of those incarcerated and for the city of New Orleans.
Medical and psychiatric care is terrible and prisoners live in fear of being beaten or raped.
Bryan Collins says about 50 deputies aren't eligible for $500 a month in supplemental pay.
Even arrestees rated as low-risk must go to a bail bondsman or post bail themselves.
