Richard Webster

Louisiana is the fourth state to enact a so-called police buffer law, which allows officers to order people to keep their distance. Journalists say the law will make it harder to document when police use excessive force.

Louisiana’s criminal justice system now treats all 17-year-olds as adults. Lawmakers lowered the age from 18 to curb teen violence, but nearly 70% of the 17-year-olds arrested in the state’s three largest parishes aren’t accused of violent crimes.

Nine prisoners have walked free after evidence presented by members of a forensics team turned out to be wrong — yet one man still awaits execution based on their testimony.

A Louisiana law cedes much of the power of the parole board to an algorithm that bars thousands of prisoners from a shot at early release. Civil rights attorneys say it could disproportionately harm Black people — and may even be unconstitutional.

Following a Verite News and ProPublica investigation, a district judge vacated the death sentence of Jimmie Duncan, whose 1998 murder conviction was based on allegedly fabricated bite mark analysis. It remains unclear if Duncan will walk free.

Despite being caught in a 2021 video ripping out Shantel Arnold’s hair, sheriff’s Deputy Julio Alvarado failed to report the incident. A new law authored by Arnold’s attorney will mandate excessive-force reporting for all law enforcement agencies.

Five years ago, the Supreme Court decided that nonunanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional. But for this Louisiana prisoner — and hundreds of others — “tough on crime” state leaders have ensured that doesn’t change anything.

Months after a judge tossed out his 1998 murder conviction, Jimmie Duncan is free on bail. But prosecutors have asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to reinstate the death penalty for Duncan, even as the victim’s mother has come to support his release.

Holland, who once compared a Black child to a dog, has had a career mired in controversy. That hasn’t stopped him from becoming the de facto frontrunner of his judicial race.

The governor’s office has dismissed experts’ concerns that his criminal justice rollbacks could swell the prison population and plunge the state into financial disaster. We analyzed how his policies have already begun to impact the state.