Why New Orleans Leads the U.S. in Wrongful Convictions

This week, Louisiana legislators passed a comprehensive package of criminal justice reform bills aimed at dethroning the state as the king of incarceration. By locking up 1,143 of every 100,000 people in the state, Louisiana incarcerates at nearly twice the national average rate—and six times over Mexico’s incarceration rate. Adding to Louisiana’s carceral state miseries is the fact that half of the people in its jails haven’t even been convicted of any crime. The bills passed in the legislature don’t completely overhaul the criminal justice system, but it is expected to shed 10 percent of the state’s prison population over the next 10 years.

Among the bills passed are measures that will reduce or eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing, make court fines and fees more affordable for low-income defendants, and eliminate incarceration and driver’s license suspension as penalties when people fail to pay those fees and fines. This historic reform package was passed with the help and sponsorship of some of Louisiana’s most conservative legislators.