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Prisoners in Angola, Louisiana, where the state prison population has dropped by 5.4 percent.

Louisiana

Michael Stravato/Polaris, via Newscom
Closing Argument
How States Are Undoing Criminal Justice Reforms
Louisiana, New York and other states are rolling back reforms — and efforts to reduce excessive sentencing or expand parole are smaller in scope.
A woman in an orange jail uniform crouches toward the ground, against a fence.
A photo shows a line of police officers standing on a corner while wearing riot gear and holding batons.
News March 12
Trump Is Backing Away From Police Reform. Here’s What That Means for 12 Places.
The administration appears set to end federal oversight of police, including agencies that have committed systemic civil rights violations.
By , , , , and
Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio, in 2023.
Closing Argument January 4
‘Perverse’ Incentives: How Local Governments Might Cash In on Trump’s Migrant Detention
Some local officials see President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations as an answer to their budget woes.
By
A photo shows the sun beaming above silhouettes of two people holding a board while another person constructs a wall of a makeshift prison cell.
Closing Argument August 10, 2024
‘Deliberate Indifference’: Court Rulings Challenge Extreme Heat Conditions in Prisons
“If it’s 103 outside, it may be 107 to -8 inside of your cell,” said a man who worked in the fields while imprisoned in Texas.
By
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a seated man with light-toned skin and short-cropped dark hair, signs a bill that is composed of a high stack of papers. Eight masked people with varying skin tones and genders stand behind him.
Election 2024 August 1, 2024
Facing Rollbacks, Criminal Justice Reformers Argue Policies Make People Safer
Advocates are refining their rebuttal to “tough on crime” messaging: Don’t focus on punishment, but on reforms that improve public safety.
By
Raymond Flanks, a Black man, and Cassandra Delpit, a Black woman, embrace each other by Lake Pontchartrain.
Life Inside July 26, 2024
Love Beyond Bars: Raymond and Cassandra
Raymond Flanks spent nearly 39 years in Louisiana lockups for a murder he didn’t commit. Luckily, he found love with an old friend, Cassandra Delpit.
Photographs by Camille Farrah Lenain
As-told-to by
An incarcerated man, wearing a gray sweater and blue pants, places a basket of harvested turnips onto a cart. Prison farm workers, wearing blue uniforms, are standing in a field in the background.
Closing Argument June 22, 2024
The New Battle Over an Old Institution: Forced Prison Labor
Inside the latest legal and legislative efforts to close state constitutional loopholes that allow slavery as punishment for a crime.
By
Gov. Jeff Landry, a White man wearing a blue suit and red tie, speaking at a podium in January 2024.
Closing Argument March 9, 2024
These States Are Once Again Embracing ‘Tough-on-Crime’ Laws
Louisiana is one of several states passing punitive measures in response to public fears.
By
Two students walk past a university building.
Closing Argument February 24, 2024
Knock, Knock! Who’s There? The Police.
What happens when a joke carries criminal charges?
By
A rectangular illustration divided into five vertical panels shows a person in a prison cell looking out a dark window, crossing numbers of years off on the wall as time passes. In the middle of the illustration, there is an image of a gavel in a small rectangle. In the third panel, a beam of light appears on the floor, and in the following panel, that beam of light gets larger, indicating an opening door. The last panel shows the person being led out of the prison cell by a prosecutor in a suit and with a briefcase.
Feature October 31, 2023
Prosecutors in These States Can Review Sentences They Deem Extreme. Few Do.
Five states now allow prosecutors to seek shorter sentences in old cases. Louisiana shows why many DAs haven’t.
By Matt Nadel and Charlie Lee
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