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March 14, the Orleans Parish Prison Reform Committee (OPPRC) and other local groups filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Marlin Gusman, Darnley R. Hodge, Jared E. Munster, and the city of New Orleans, alleging the illegal operation of the Temporary Detention Center (TDC) capable of housing up to 800 additional inmates adjacent to Orleans Parish Prison

#New Orleans #sheriff #marlin gusman #opprc #vote-NOLA #WWAV-NO #detention facility

We want restorative, rather than punitive, justice systems that actually repair harm, promote healing and transformation, and restore trust. We want effective re-entry programs; but more so, we want more and better community-based support programs that make it unlikely that a person ever commits a crime, gets arrested or goes to jail, such as mental health care, job training and opportunities, living wages, quality education, access to health care, etc. We want people who are accused of crimes to have their cases settled fairly and quickly. We want greater use of alternative sentencing and revised sentencing guidelines that promote shorter sentences for many crimes.

#OPPRC #New Orleans #mass incarceration

By reducing sky-high incarceration rates, New Orleans could build safer, stronger communities.

“I used jail space to change behavior, regardless of whether the city was paying for it, regardless of how it drives jail size. And I did it without a thought,” says retired Judge Calvin Johnson, part of the mayor’s jail population task force. Though Johnson knows intellectually that sending an addict to jail for a month or a weekend doesn’t further their rehabilitation process, no one ever questioned his practice, because there were unlimited jail beds. “Jail space drives policy,” says Johnson, an early and outspoken advocate for a smaller jail.

#new orleans #opprc #jail

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Interview with Orleans Parish Reform Coalition member, Janet Hays, in advance of press conference in New Orleans. OPPRC and Religious Leaders demand Sheriff Marlin Gusman resign from office immediately, citing the pervasive culture of violence and neglect in the new jail.

The latest federal consent decree over OPP has been in place since 2013. The federal court-appointed jail monitors testified last month that the new jail, which has been opened since September 2015, is far from safe, despite Sheriff Gusman’s promises that conditions would improve in the new jail facility. In the first three months in the new jail, the monitors reported that there were over 150 incidents (119 of which had not been reported), including over 200 assaults, 16 attempted suicides, 44 uses of force (of which only 20 were reported), 3 sexual assaults, and one death from a chronic illness. The first 33 days of 2016 logged 114 incidents in the new jail, and just two weeks ago Cleveland Tumblin died of self-inflicted injuries in the jail. And now Sheriff Gusman paid $1.7 million to settle the lawsuit of yet another inmate who committed suicide in the prison. Despite paying the large settlement, the sheriff denies responsibility for the death. “The culture of violence and neglect that has plagued OPP continues into the new jail. Awaiting trial at Orleans Parish Prison is no less of a death sentence than it used to be,” said Norris Henderson, a member of OPPRC and the Executive Director of VOTE. “We have waited 12 years for the changes Gusman promised, and now we are demanding that he get out of the way so that the changes our community needs can finally be implemented.” The participating ministers say, " We are not willing to continue supporting a sheriff who continues to mismanage our jail, and who seeks to add more beds to a jail that already warehouses too many of our community members." “We would not be responsible leaders if we allowed irresponsible things to happen to our community. This is about the violence and destabilization that members of our community face in there. As we celebrate passion week, isn’t it divinely ironic that we as leaders don’t want to repeat the errors of Pontius Pilate and wash our hands as our brothers and sisters are being crucified in the Orleans Parish jail. Credit for Sheriff Marlin Gusman sound clips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVpH_ipnGNo Uploaded on Oct 13, 2011 Sheriff Marlin Gusman's Community Report is a show that airs on New Orleans Access. The Community Report's purpose is to inform residents of Orleans Parish on what Sheriff Marlin Gusman and his office are doing to help prevent crime. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gO5es_8GSc Published on Apr 4, 2013 Sheriff Marlin Gusman speaks about the shocking jail videos released on Tuesday in federal court, which show inmates using drugs, brandishing guns and drinking beer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scvCXLoE0kE Published on Apr 17, 2014 Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman speaks to WDSU about the partial agreement reached Thursday in the jail consent decree.

#new orleans #opprc #passion week #jail #prison #wtul news & views

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Anneke Dunbar-Ghronke speaks to WTUL News and Views about the recent public forum hosted by the OPPRC regarding how the green space in the Prison Complex should be used in order to best serve the community. Features speakers Desiree Evans and Nate Faulk.

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Upcoming Criminal Justice Committee Meeting today, July 23rd at 1pm

#OPPRC #criminaljustice #NOLA #PIC