COLORLINES

New Orleans: All Four Danziger Bridge Cops Sentenced to 40-65 Years

by Jorge Rivas on April 5 2012, 11:04AM

On Wednesday the Justice Department announced five former New Orleans police officers were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to 65 years for the shootings of unarmed civilians in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Topics: Criminal Justice, /NOW Blog

Jails Paid Per Prisoner? That’s Perverse, Say NOLA Advocates

by Noelle de la Paz on December 1 2011, 9:45AM

Orleans Parish Prison receives money based on how many inmates are detained each day. And go figure, it’s got the largest county jail per capita of any major U.S. city.

Topics: Criminal Justice

A Miracle in New Orleans Schools? Students Say, Not Quite

by Julianne Hing on November 9 2011, 10:00AM

Students of color concerned about New Orleans’ inequitable school reforms organized to have their voices heard, and the district listened.

Topics: Schools & Youth

Condoleezza Rice Regrets Watching Broadway Show During Katrina

by Jamilah King on October 25 2011, 10:00AM

The former Secretary of State dishes it all in her new memoir.

Topics: Politics

Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Has Big Post-Katrina Regrets

by Jorge Rivas on August 30 2011, 1:32PM

Six years after Katrina, former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says he regrets not evacuating the city sooner.

Topics: Environment

What Explains the Post-Katrina Success of New Orleans’ Schools?

by Julianne Hing on August 29 2011, 10:32AM

Six years later, the city is fetted as a prime example of how aggressive reforms can improve results. But the question there is the same elsewhere: do the market-based ideas help all students or just those with resources?

Topics: Katrina Recovery, Schools & Youth

From Heroes to Villains: NOPD Verdict Reveals Post-Katrina History

by Jordan Flaherty on August 8 2011, 9:30AM

The Justice Department’s victory is a decisive rejection of the idea that chaos in the days following Katrina justified the violence of the New Orleans Police Department. It’s a win for police accountability nationwide.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Katrina Recovery

Five NOPD Cops Guilty in Post-Katrina Danziger Bridge Shootings

by Jorge Rivas on August 5 2011, 5:03PM

Five officers are found guilty of civil rights violation, but not murder.

Topics: Criminal Justice

Trial for Post-Katrina Danziger Bridge Police Shootings Begins

by Julianne Hing on June 29 2011, 10:00AM

The trial is the largest of a string of prosecutions the Department of Justice has pursued against the NOPD for fatal shootings that took place in the days after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Topics: Criminal Justice

New Orleans Dumps FEMA Trailers—and Maybe the People in Them

by Julianne Hing on January 3 2011, 3:37PM

The new tough-on-blight policy doesn’t mean the city will help people work out stable housing.

Topics: Economy

Danziger Bridge Cover-Up Cop’s Sentencing Delayed

by Julianne Hing on September 17 2010, 10:19AM

Former NOPD officer Jeffrey Lehrmann faces three years in prison for helping cover up the deadly post-Katrina shooting.

Topics: Criminal Justice

Did Charter Schools Save New Orleans After Katrina?

by Naima Ramos-Chapman on August 31 2010, 2:27PM

Today only 38,000 students are enrolled in New Orleans schools, compared with 65,000 in the year before Katrina.

Topics: Schools & Youth

Obama Calls Katrina a “Manmade Catastrophe;” Many Still Await Repair

by Jamilah King on August 30 2010, 12:59PM

Read the president’s remarks on the storm’s fifth anniversary.

Topics:

How New Orleans Plans to Clean Up Its Cops

by Hatty Lee on August 30 2010, 11:10AM

A breakdown of the efforts to rebuild New Orleans police—and hold officers’ accountable to violence in the days after Katrina.

Topics: Criminal Justice

For New Orleans, Katrina Recovery Means Remaking Police, Too

by Julianne Hing on August 30 2010, 11:02AM

With the Justice Department bearing down, the city tries to go from worst to best in holding police accountable to the communities they serve.

Topics: Criminal Justice, Katrina Recovery

Housing Crisis Lingers in Post-Katrina New Orleans

by Michelle Chen on August 30 2010, 9:10AM

While New Orleans hobbles toward recovery after Hurricane Katrina’s punishing blows, a deep affordable housing crisis continues to hold back impoverished mothers:

Topics: Economy, On Gender