Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI)

Join us this Thursday at 5:30PM at 12 Mile Limit for a night of fun, community, and impact! Every dollar raised fuels the fight for justice and supports PJI’s work right here in #Louisiana.

I won protection from torture in El Salvador. At Angola, I now face torture by the U.S. government. A person held in detention at a newly created immigration unit in Angola prison says ICE is not providing medical care or allowing regular communication with the outside world.

"So when I say that Angola is the worst place that I have ever been, I say it with the painful expertise of many years behind bars. I am here not because... I committed any new crime...I am here because ICE is rounding up everyone they can."

veritenews.org/2025/09/26/l...

Researcher and "Secrets of the Killing State" author @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social's author talk was equal parts informative and illuminating when it comes to the secrecy surrounding executions generally speaking as well as how lethal injections have become more commonplace as an execution method.

It's said prisons don't solve problems, they only disappear them from our communities. What problems are further exacerbated when combining the heat & humidity of #Louisiana w/the confinement, power imbalance, additional abuses, and lack of autonomy & care found within a prison? #CarceralClimates

Unable to join us IRL. Register to watch this urgent and important discussion virtually here: bit.ly/sotks-watch

Author Talk: “Secrets of the Killing State” with Corrina Barrett Lain — The Promise of Justice Initiative In Louisiana and across the country, governments are going to extreme lengths to execute people despite public support declining dramatically over the last several years. Join the Promise of Justice I...

With the book also discussing gassing as an execution method and Louisiana committing its first execution since 2010 via gassing, this conversation has never been more urgent and necessary. bit.ly/sotks-nola

We invite you to join us tomorrow at the Community Book Center for an author talk between PJI's Samantha Kennedy and "Secrets of the Killing State" author, researcher and law professor, @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social on lethal injections and the secrecy surrounding this execution method.

The #NOLA Noname Book Club (NNBC) chapter returns this Sat to John Thompson Legacy Center for 1PM! Each month a book written by a Black author is chosen and discussed. September's pick is "Sister Outsider" by Audre Lorde. Interested in attending? DM us for more info.

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: "Prisons also perpetuate and exacerbate the very climate hazards they are woefully unprepared to face."

Will an overturned murder rap free this Angola prisoner? Keith Ezidore has been in prison in Angola for 34 years of his daughter’s life. With his conviction recently overturned, there’s a chance he may soon come home.

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: “Law enforcement illegally withholding evidence from defendants is a leading cause of wrongful convictions that is particularly prevalent in Louisiana."

veritenews.org/2025/08/27/a...

108 Degrees - Tutankhamon Waterman - Inquest Eight Virginia prisons currently have no air-conditioning. We go to sleep in sweat and wake up in sweat, with no respite from dangerous heat.

Read "108 Degrees", an essay by incarcerated writer and author Tut Waterman about the conditions inside a #Virigina based prison with no air conditioning (via @truthout.org out and @inquest.bsky.social) here: inquest.org/108-degrees/ #CarceralClimates

Can you imagine being forced to share space with a group of people in 108 degree heat? Would you be able to remain calm if conflict arose and tensions were high? In what ways would you stay cool if your movement and resources were extremely limited and there was no A/C or handheld fans?⁠

Join us on Thurs, 9/25 for an important discussion b/w PJI's Samantha Kennedy & author @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social Lain on her book, "Secrets of the Killing State." This event will explore the troubling realities of #lethalinjection and its implications in Louisiana. 🔗: bit.ly/sotks-nola

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: “The state was aware that the (heat) index could rise rapidly within within periods of less than an hour, yet protection remained inadequate to prevent serious harm."

Critical Mass NOLA cyclists hold community engagement rides Critical Mass NOLA has been hosting a series of community engagement bike rides throughout New Orleans this summer.

Join us for 5:30PM at the Hale Boggs Building (500 Poydras St.) as we discuss some of our programmatic work and insights about #massincarceration and how you can join us on the route to safety, justice, and accountability.

Read the full story here: veritenews.org/2025/09/09/c...

Thanks to Robert Stewart of Verite News for speaking with our Director of Community Impact about tonight's community engagement bike ride with Critical Mass NOLA, Freedom to Grow NOLA, VOTE, Eye on Surveillance NOLA, and New Orleans Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression!

Fast forward to 2025, where there have been only 11 days this summer (June - August) w/temps below 90°.⁠
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As residents across the state continue to brave this sweltering heat in a variety of ways, we wanted to share the experiences of those who have very limited resources and are subject to...

heat-related illnesses and potentially death for the thousands of men incarcerated there.⁠
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Summers in Louisiana become more difficult by the year with triple digit heat being recorded in 2023. That same year, former governor, John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in August.

#DidYouKnow that Louisiana has a total of 13 carceral facilities with the Louisiana State Penitentiary (A/K/A as Angola), being the largest with 18,000 acres. Like many prisons throughout the South, Angola lacks proper air conditioning (allegedly 4 areas of the prison have A/C), resulting in...

WATCH yesterday’s press conference with exonerees and experts with @cifsjustice.org as they called on Texas authorities to prevent the wrongful execution of Robert Roberson on 10/16/25 for a crime that never occurred.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwwL...

This Saturday, we celebrate the life and legacy of John Thompson not only on what would have been his 63rd birthday, but also the 3rd anniversary of the John Thompson Legacy Center's opening.

RSVP here: www.eventbrite.com/e/celebratin...

'Purposefully simulating chattel slavery': Prisoners sue over 'inhumane' conditions on Angola's brutal Farm Line A groundbreaking lawsuit representing prisoners forced to work in “inhumane” conditions could finally put an end to Angola prison’s notorious “Farm Line.”

The @promiseofjustice.bsky.social's injunction requiring "Heat Alerts" on Angola’s Farm Line at 88°F+ heat index has been extended 90 more days by the U.S. District Court.

Read more: therealnews.com/prisoners-su...

We heard from several of our former clients who are now free about what it was like to watch their worlds implode from a television set at Angola during #HurricaneKatrina.

Please listen to When All You Can Do Is Watch: Hurricane Katrina from Inside Angola (4 of 4). 📷️: Jackson Hill

At PJI, when we think of the incredible devastation of Katrina & the failures of our government, we are called to remember those whom are so easily forgotten – our friends and neighbors inside of prison.

When All You Can Do Is Watch: #HurricaneKatrina From Inside Angola (3 of 4).

When all you can do is watch: #HurricaneKatrina from inside Angola (2 of 4). 📸: Jackson Hill

With the 20th anniversary of #HurricaneKatrina approaching, we spoke with several of our former clients who were incarcerated and separated from their families during the storm & following man-made disaster.

When all you can do is watch: Hurricane Katrina from inside Angola. 📸: Jackson Hill

“After 45 years, I’m no closer to freedom than the day I walked into this place.” ⁠
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Read the story of Lloyd Gray, one of the many incarcerated men unconstitutionally convicted due to #Louisiana's racist tactic of #JimCrowJuries:

www.propublica.org/article/loui...

...late May. Review our recap of the oral arguments on these slides.

2 weeks ago, court proceedings for the ongoing "Farm Line" litigation, VOTE v. LeBlanc took place in The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals as a panel of judges heard arguments on whether to affirm the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana's injunction issued in...

Join EBRP Prison Reform Coalition tomorrow at 6PM for the Death in Custody Rose Ceremony honoring the life and memory of Maressa Mays who was found dead in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

www.eventbrite.com/e/ebrp-priso...