NEW ORLEANS – Amid a rising death toll from COVID-19 at Louisiana prisons and jails, a new data model shows that COVID-19 could claim the lives of approximately 100,000 more people nationwide

NEW ORLEANS – In the wake of Louisiana’s first confirmed cases of coronavirus, the ACLU of Louisiana today called for expedited parole hearings for elderly people in state prisons and the release of all people jailed awaiting charges and trial who are not considered a risk to public safety.

NEW ORLEANS – Ahead of Tropical Storm Barry, the ACLU of Louisiana put local jail officials on notice to protect human life and respect the rights of people incarcerated in local jails and prisons.

A new report includes harrowing first-hand accounts of prolonged isolation in Louisiana’s state prisons, where at last count the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections (LADOC) held at least 17 percent of people in some form of solitary confinement.

The serious lack of medical care at the Louisiana State Penitentiary is unconstitutionally inadequate and jeopardizes the lives of people who are incarcerated at the prison commonly called Angola, according to a federal class action lawsuit that goes to trial today. 

The Louisiana Department of Corrections has agreed to lift restrictions on media interviews with people incarcerated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola under the terms of a settlement agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana announced today.