Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI)

"Executions...aren't designed with scientific rigor because modern medicine focuses on preserving life, not ending it, and because ethical rules preclude the kind of testing that would normally precede the use of techniques that affect a human body so drastically."

www.law360.com/access-to-ju...

Florida’s governor is a veteran. So are seven inmates he’ll send to the execution chamber this year. Should their military service matter?

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: "While veterans represent an estimated 12 percent of Florida’s 256 death row inmates, they account for nearly 40 percent of the 18 death warrants that the governor has signed this year."

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

a concern in school districts across #Louisiana and that in districts that are both underserved and under-resourced, Black children are more like­ly to be dis­ci­plined in school, be expelled, and suspended compared to their white counterparts resulting with their introduction into the legal system.

...straight from the people who lived them", like Ms. Bridges, Tate, Etienne, and Prevost.⁠

As we continue to fight for those targeted and touched by the criminal legal system and mass incarceration, it's important to note that even today, segregation is still...

...the fight for equitable education and civil rights reshaping history.⁠
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Several of our staff recently viewed "The Trail They Blazed", a multimedia experience curated by our partners The Historic New Orleans Collection, which "presents stories of social and racial justice...

#OnThisDay in 1960, Ruby Bridges, only 6 years old at the time, took groundbreaking steps into William Frantz School, an all-white elementary school in New Orleans. Her bravery – in addition to the heroism of Leona Tate, Gail Etienne, and Tessie Prevost – helped pushed the nation forward in...

While the case is paused temporarily pending appeal, we continue to fight for our clients and will not stop until they get the relief they deserve. Read more here: promiseofjustice.org/medical-clas...

This lawsuit highlights the needless suffering of patients at Angola — including severe pain, preventable sickness, and untimely death — as a result of prison officials’ failure to provide legally required medical care.

Last week was the 2nd anniversary of a massive win in the Lewis v. Cain class action suit, with a U.S. Middle District of Louisiana judge ordering the LA. Dept. of Corrections and Public Safety to remedy the unconstitutional conditions and "abhorrent medical care" at Angola.⁠

The Trail They Blazed Leaders of the local Civil Rights Movement tell their stories of resistance and persistence.

curator/historian Eric Seifert, which features Leona Tate, Gail Etienne, Tessie Prevost, and Ruby Bridges, the four civil rights torchbearers who desegregated New Orleans' schools as children. The multimedia exhibit will be on display until June 7, 2026.⁠

hnoc.org/exhibitions/...

Despite that ruling that schools desegregate “with all deliberate speed", there was no specific timetable implemented by the court.⁠
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Recently, several PJI staffers were treated to a private tour of The Historic New Orleans Collection's new exhibit "The Trail They Blazed" by...

Last week marked the 56th anniversary of the Supreme Court ordering public schools across the South to be desegregated immediately. This action would come 15 years after Brown v. Board of Education ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional...
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Last Tues, the FCC reversed course on capping prison phone call rates prioritizing the demands & profits of the telecommunications companies over incarcerated people & their loved ones. The FCC's new regulations, would've saved families $500M+ a year.

Read more here: veritenews.org/2025/10/28/f...

FCC votes to loosen caps on jail, prison phone calls - Verite News New Orleans in 2024, the FCC voted to set six-cent per minute caps on phone calls from prisons and jails. The rule never fully took effect. After pushback from telecoms, the commission voted to raise the cap to 1...

Ultimately, no family should go into debt to stay in touch with their incarcerated loved ones.

Read more from @veritenews.org here: veritenews.org/2025/10/28/f...

Last week, the FCC reversed course on capping prison phone call rates prioritizing the demands and profits of the telecommunications companies over incarcerated people & their loved ones. The FCC's new regulations, passed just last year, would've saved families over $500M a year.

Swastika Found on DA File Introduced into Court, Judge Grants Hearing for PJI Client Incarcerated for 45 Years — The Promise of Justice Initiative BREAKING NEWS: PJI Client, Lloyd Gray granted new hearing based on evidence presented of racial discrimination in Orleans Criminal Court!

and a swastika was drawn on his DA file. Read more about his case and most importantly, the innocent man whose freedom we continue to fight for here:

promiseofjustice.org/news/new-hea...

Yesterday, our dear friend & client, Lloyd Gray was granted a new hearing based on newly discovered evidence of racial discrimination! Lloyd has been incarcerated for the last 45 yrs due to a nonunanimous jury conviction where two of the jurors who found him not guilty were Black...

“I said, ‘Your case is still alive.’ And he said, ‘I knew it would be.’ So he had faith through and through. And his faith carries our faith.” 💚🖤

🗣️: CALLING ALL RISING 2L AND 3L LAW STUDENTS!⁠
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We're currently accepting applications for our summer legal internship. Although applications are accepted on a rolling basis, we encourage people to apply early because there are a limited number of spots. Learn more here: promiseofjustice.org/jobs

The Historic New Orleans Collection recently explored how #Louisiana became the carceral capital of the world in an exhibition entitled “Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration" & released a powerful new book w/the same name.

WATCH here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsGI...

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: "I'm always in some state of being punished, having been punished, or about to be punished." (via @boltsmag.org)

boltsmag.org/designed-to-...

Join us this Saturday, 10/25 for 1PM at the John Thompson Legacy Ctr for the #NOLA chapter meetup of Noname Book Club (NNBC). Each month a book written by a Black author is chosen & discussed. This month's pick is "Assata: An Autobiography." Interested in attending? RSVP here: info@nonamebooks.com

ICYMI: Jessie Hoffman's spiritual advisor, Rev. Reimoku Smith, spoke about his relationship with Jessie, the first person executed by the State of LA. in 15 yrs, on World Day Against the Death Penalty.

WATCH the full webinar: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lv0...

Court Rules That Thousands of People Imprisoned by Louisiana Past Their Release Dates May Sue as a Class Action — The Promise of Justice Initiative Baton Rouge, LA, September 25, 2025  – This week, a Baton Rouge federal judge took a major step in the long-running litigation about “overdetention” – a term referring to the constitutional viola...

Ultimately, as a result of the judge's ruling, the thousands of people in Louisiana who may have been imprisoned past their release dates can proceed as a group – rather than having to file thousands of individual lawsuits.

Read more on this important win here: promiseofjustice.org/news/louisia...

In late September, a Baton Rouge federal judge took a major step in the long-running litigation about “overdetention" or when an incarcerated person is held in prison past the end of their legal release date.

Thanks to Corinna, @pageonem.bsky.social, and the Community Book Center for helping us bring the "Secrets of the Killing State" book tour to New Orleans! 💚🖤

**REMINDER: Don't forget to join us today for 5:30PM at the Twelve Mile Limit for our #happyhour fun-raiser! A portion of this event's signature cocktail, "The Bees Knees", will go to the Promise of Justice's programmatic work.

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: "Racial justice demands attention because the aging prison population disproportionately affects communities of color due to historical sentencing disparities."

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...