Gusman closes House of Detention
Surrounded by deputies, Orleans Parish Sherriff Marlin Gusman announced today that he is closing the Orleans Parish Prison House of Detention facility on Perdido Street.
View ArticleFeds Find 'Alarming Conditions' at N.O. Jail
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Justice Department says its recent inspection of the New Orleans jail found "alarming conditions" and uncovered persistently high rates of prisoner-on-prisoner violence and staff...
View ArticleOne OPP escapee still being sought after slipping under fence Saturday night
One of two inmates who escaped from Orleans Parish Prison Saturday is back in custody, though authorities were still searching for the other earlier today, the Sheriff’s Office said.
View ArticleDOJ seeks to join lawsuit against Orleans prison
The U.S. Justice Department is asking to join a class action lawsuit that accuses Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman of overseeing a jail that routinely subjects prisoners to brutal, inhumane...
View ArticleConsent Decree Outlines Jail Reforms
The New Orleans jail now has a plan to fix its troubled record of inmate violence and staff misconduct. The problem now is how to pay for improvements.
View ArticleNew Orleans Looks For Ways To Fund Jail Reform
The City of New Orleans is reviewing a consent decree designed to revamp operations at the parish jail. Federal officials are looking to the city to correct conditions they found unconstitutional.
View ArticleJudge Grants Preliminary Okay for New Orleans Jail Reforms
A federal judge has granted preliminary approval of an agreement between the Justice Department and the city of New Orleans that's designed to clean up the city-funded jail.
View ArticleNew Orleans Seeks Rejection of Jail Reform Plan
The City of New Orleans is asking a federal court to reject a proposed reform plan for the Orleans Parish Prison — a plan that the city says it will have to pay for even though the Orleans Parish...
View ArticleFull Text of Mayor Mitch Landrieu's Consent Decree Presentation
Mayor Mitch Landrieu outlined dire circumstances on the horizon in an emergency meeting of the New Orleans City Council Thursday morning, warning that the city will be forced to drastically cut...
View ArticleNew Orleans Jail Violence Detailed in Federal Court Hearings
Problems at the New Orleans jail are being revealed in graphic testimony under way in federal court. A judge is hearing what’s wrong with jail management, and what’s the solution.
View ArticleMayor Landrieu Wants Federal Monitor to Operate City Jail
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu is outlining his plan for state legislation to help the city. He’s asking the federal government — not the state — to help reform the troubled city jail.
View ArticleSheriff Gusman Fires Back At Jail Critics
The sheriff in charge of the overcrowded and violent New Orleans jail is firing back at critics. Sheriff Marlin Gusman favors a federal consent decree, while Mayor Mitch Landrieu says a federal...
View ArticleSheriff Gusman Spars With Mayor Landrieu Over Jail Conditions
Sheriff Marlin Gusman spent six hours testifying at the federal court hearing over a consent decree to reform his jail. He then took aim at his critics at a news conference.
View ArticleCity Files For Receivership Of Orleans Parish Prison
The City of New Orleans formally petitioned the U.S. District Court in New Orleans to place a federal receiver in charge of the Orleans Parish Prison complex and related facilities, Mayor Mitch...
View ArticleJail Funding Battle Heads To Federal Court
The New Orleans criminal justice system will be center stage at federal court proceedings set to begin this week. The city argues it can’t pay for fixing the police department and jail at the same time.
View ArticlePaying For Prison Consent Decree Big Question In Proposed New Orleans Budget
Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s 2014 city budget proposal is complete and ready for City Council review, but there is still one big question mark.
View ArticleTemporary Agreement Reached For Orleans Parish Prison
Lawyers for the city of New Orleans and Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman have reached an agreement, for now, on how to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to reform the city’s violent jail.The...
View ArticlePanel Reports Improvements In New Orleans Jail Fire Safety
A federal court-appointed panel is reporting progress in improving fire safety at a section of the New Orleans jail.In a report filed at the court Monday, the panel said padlocks on some doors in a...
View ArticleDrive-by Shooting Suspect Involved In Jail Fight
A suspect in a deadly drive-by shooting in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward got into a fight with another inmate on his first day inside Orleans Parish Prison.
View ArticleCity Wants State To Take Its Inmates From Orleans Parish Prison
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu is asking the governor to pull state inmates from Orleans Parish Prison. He says it could save tens of millions of dollars on a new jail.
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