Editor’s note: A bill could soon expand the amount of work done by state prisoners on repairs and construction projects in certain state buildings in Louisiana, including the Capitol complex in Baton Rouge. Inmates are paid between 4 and 70 cents per hour for their work.
On the news tonight they’ll be talking about undecided voters and swing states, and who the voters choose: Obama or Romney. What they probably won’t be talking about is those who didn’t vote, not because they’re lazy or ignorant or anti-American, but because it’s against the law.
Sometime around 5:30 a.m., on March 1, 2012, an off-duty policeman working for a private neighborhood security force stopped two young black men driving in a predominantly white neighborhood in New Orleans. The officer called for back up.
Editor's Note: Standing up for justice runs in Courtney Oats' family. The 21-year old college student in Eupora, Mississippi is the great niece of Fannie Lou Hamer, and has been a community organizer since her teens.
In a letter to the editors of the Times-Picayune this month, New Orleans resident Mona Castillo wrote that the key to decreasing crime is to make prison "less comfortable." She wrote, "At the present time, jails are more like hotels. Many prisoners live better there than they did on the outside."
Yesterday, a group of advocates sent the following open letter to the New Orleans City Council, regarding a proposed citywide curfew that would make it illegal for youth under the age of 16 to be outdoors after 8pm.
Crossposted from Justice Roars. Last week, the newsletter of the International Coalition to Free the Angola Three published recently transcribed testimony of the October 2008 deposition of Burl Cain, Warden of Angola Prison, questioned by Nick Trenticosta, an at
A Talk with John Thompson, by Jed Horne, Crossposted from The Lens. John Thompson knows the streets of New Orleans. He also knows the state’s prisons. He was one of several defendants railroaded to death row during Harry Connick’s 28-year tenure as Orleans Parish district attorney.
On November 29th, a coalition of over 30 local organizations delivered a petition with more than 2,200 signatures to Mayor Mitch Landrieu, calling for reform of Orleans Parish Prison. Specifically, the petition demanded that the Mayor formally commit to capping the size of the new facility being built by the Sheriff’s Office at 1,438 beds, and that the City Council end the “per diem” budget system for the jail.
On the news tonight they’ll be talking about undecided voters and swing states, and who the voters choose: Obama or Romney. What they probably won’t be talking about is those who didn’t vote, not because they’re lazy or ignorant or anti-American, but because it’s against the law.
Sometime around 5:30 a.m., on March 1, 2012, an off-duty policeman working for a private 
Editor's Note: Standing up for justice runs in Courtney Oats' family. The 21-year old college student in Eupora, Mississippi is the great niece of Fannie Lou Hamer, and has been a community organizer since her teens.
In a 
A Talk with John Thompson, by Jed Horne, 
On November 29th, a coalition of over 30 local organizations delivered a petition with more than 2,200 signatures to Mayor Mitch Landrieu, calling for reform of Orleans Parish Prison. Specifically, the petition demanded that the Mayor formally commit to capping the size of the new facility being built by the Sheriff’s Office at 1,438 beds, and that the City Council end the “per diem” budget system for the jail.
