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Orleans Parish Prison Report

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Orleans Parish Prison Report COVER PHOTOGRAPH: A/P WIDE WORLD PHOTOS 1 Joyce Gilson AUTHORS National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union ACLU National Prison Project Founded in 1972 by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National 915 15th Street NW, 7th Floor Prison Project (NPP) seeks to ensure constitutional conditions of confinement Washington, DC 20005 and strengthen prisoners’ rights through class action litigation and public educa- Tel: (202) 393-4930 tion. Our policy priorities include reducing prison overcrowding, improving pris- Fax: (212) 393-4931 oner medical care, eliminating violence and maltreatment in prisons and jails, and www.aclu.org minimizing the reliance on incarceration as a criminal justice sanction. The Pro- ject also publishes a semi-annual Journal, coordinates a nationwide network of liti- gators, conducts training and public education conferences, and provides expert advice and technical assistance to local community groups and lawyers through- out the country. CO-AUTHORS & CONTRIBUTORS American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana ACLU of Louisiana The ACLU of Louisiana has protected traditional American values as a P.O. Box 56157 guardian of liberty since its founding in 1956. Our mission is to conserve Amer- New Orleans, LA 70156-6157 ica’s original civic values embodied in the U.S. Constitution and the Louisiana Tel: (504) 522-0617 Constitution by working daily in the courts, legislature, and communities. We Toll Free: (866) 522-0617 defend the rights of every man, woman, and child residing in this state against Fax: (504) 522-0618 attempts by the government to take away or limit civil liberties and personal free- www.laaclu.org doms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, as well as federal and state laws. The ACLU of Louisiana provides its services free-of-charge, and without regard to a person’s race, creed, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation. American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Program ACLU Human Rights Program th Created in 2004, the ACLU Human Rights Program is dedicated to holding the 125 Broad Street, 18 Fl. U.S. government accountable to universal human rights principles in addition to New York, NY 10004 rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. We incorporate international human (212) 549-2500 rights strategies into ACLU advocacy on issues relating to national security, immi- www.aclu.org grants’ rights, women’s rights and racial justice. 2 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION American Civil Liberties Union, Racial Justice Program ACLU Racial Justice Program th The ACLU Racial Justice Program aims to preserve and extend constitutionally 125 Broad Street, 18 Fl. guaranteed and other rights to segments of the population that historically have New York, NY 10004 been denied those rights on the basis of race, ethnicity or national origin. Our (212) 549-2500 work involves challenges to racial discrimination and issues that have a direct or www.aclu.org disparate impact on communities of color, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, education, and discrimination. In the area of criminal justice, we are ded- icated to reducing the unwarranted and disproportionate targeting and incarcer- ation of people of color. In the area of education, we seek to ensure that all children have access to quality education, regardless of race or ethnicity. Specifi- cally, we have filed civil challenges to the inadequate provision of indigent crimi- nal and juvenile defense, pre- and post-9/11 racial profiling, and disparate educational opportunities. We also have done litigation and other advocacy, including public education and community organizing, against the racially dis- proportionate imposition of incarceration and the school-to-prison pipeline. Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch conducts regular, systematic investigations of human 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor rights abuses in some seventy counties around the world. Our reputation for New York, NY 10118 timely, reliable disclosures has made us an essential source of information for Tel: (212) 290-4700 those concerned with human rights. We address the human rights practices of Fax: (212) 736-1300 governments of all political stripes, of all geopolitical alignments, and of all ethnic www.hrw.org and religious persuasions. Human Rights Watch defends freedom of thought and expression, due process and equal protection of the law, and a vigorous civil soci- ety; we document and denounce murders, disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment discrimination, and other abuses of internationally recognized human rights. Our goal is to hold governments accountable if they transgress the human rights of their people. Human Rights Watch contributed to the section of the report on the abuse of prisoners at the Jena Correctional Facility. Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana The Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana’s mission is to transform the juvenile 1600 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard justice system into one that builds on the strengths of young people, families and New Orleans, LA 70113 communities in order to instill hope and to ensure children are given the greatest Tel: (504) 522-5437 opportunities to grow and thrive. Our goals are: Fax: (504) 522-5430 • to create and support an effective and innovative juvenile defense system; www.jjpl.org • to alleviate unconstitutional conditions of confinement for juveniles, both pre- and post-adjudication; and • to work collaboratively with existing organizations and resources to develop and expand rehabilitation efforts and alternatives to incarceration for juveniles. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. NAACP Legal Defense and Educa- The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is America's tional Fund, Inc. first not-for-profit civil rights law firm. It's mission is to transform the promise of 99 Hudson Street, Suite 1600 equality into reality for African Americans and, ultimately, all individuals in the New York, NY 10013-2897 areas of education, political participation, economic justice and criminal justice. Tel: (212) 965-2200 Fax: (212) 226-7592 LDF has long been involved in racial justice litigation and advocacy in the Gulf www.naacpldf.org South. LDF's current priorities include seeking to bring justice to African Ameri- cans through fair jury selection practices and adequately funded indigent defense systems. Since Hurricane Katrina, LDF has devoted significant resources to working on behalf of the Katrina diaspora, including advocating for voter protec- tion, educational access and criminal justice reform in Orleans Parish. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, LDF was initially affiliated with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People but has been an entirely separate organization since 1957. LDF contributed to the section of the report on the abuse of prisoners at the Jena Correctional Facility. Safe Streets/Strong Communities Safe Streets/Strong Communities Safe Streets/Strong Communities is a coalition of community organizers, advocates 1600 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard and attorneys whose mission is to transform the New Orleans criminal justice sys- New Orleans, LA 70113 tem into one that creates safe streets and strong communities for everyone, regard- Tel: (504) 522-3949 less of race or economic status. Safe Streets envisions a public safety system that: Fax: (504) 522-5430 • keeps people safe from all forms of violence and crime including street violence, domestic violence, and law enforcement violence; • is transparent, democratic, fair and accountable to the community it serves; and • supports community-driven responses to crime that are based in best practices. Safe Streets seeks reform of the New Orleans Police Department, the Orleans Parish jail system, and the Orleans Parish criminal court system, including the indigent defense system, in order to achieve our vision of real public safety. 3 Albert G. Couvillion ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to thank the following among the many individuals from vari- ous partner organizations who contributed sections of the report: Joe Cook, Executive Director, and Katie Schwartzmann, Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Louisiana; Derwyn Bunton, Associate Director, and Megan Faunce, Youth Advocate, for the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana; Ursula Price, Outreach and Investigation Coordinator, Xochitl Bervera, former Interim Co-Director, Norris Henderson, Co-Director, Barry Gerharz, former Legal Coordinator, and Evelyn Lynn, Managing Director, of Safe Streets/Strong Communities; Vanita Gupta, former Assistant Counsel, Olga Akselrod, former Assistant Counsel, Damon, Inc., Todd Hewitt, Assistant Counsel, and Vivian Intermont, Paralegal for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; E. Vincent Warren, Senior Staff Attorney, Reginald T. Shuford, Senior Staff Attorney, Laleh Ispa- hani, Senior Policy Counsel, Nicole Dixon, Paralegal, and Sean Murray, Intern for the Racial Justice Program of the American Civil Liberties Union; King Downing, National Coordinator for the Campaign Against Racial Profiling of the American Civil Liberties Union; Chandra S. Bhatnagar, Human Rights Advocacy Coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union; Jamie Fellner, Director, and Alison Parker, Acting Director of the U.S. Program for Human 4 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION Rights Watch; and Corinne Carey, former Researcher for Human Rights Watch, and now Deputy Director for Break the Chains. This report focuses on the experience of
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