Steps Toward Justice: An Evaluation of Prosecution Reform in New Orleans, 2017 to 2022
Overview
New Orleans has historically relied on mass incarceration as its primary response to public safety concerns. But true public safety in Louisiana demands reducing incarceration by tackling its root causes, like systemic failures and inequitable social conditions. Arguably, the most powerful and influential actor in the criminal legal system is the elected prosecutor for a community, commonly called the district attorney (DA). The DA can recommend bail for pretrial release; pursue prosecution; propose diversion as an alternative; or end the case entirely by declining to prosecute it.
Ahead of the 2020 Orleans Parish District Attorney election, the Vera Institute of Justice’s Louisiana office (Vera Louisiana) launched a public education campaign to inform voters about DAs’ power, the importance of making informed voting decisions, and the opportunities for criminal justice reform a new elected DA could bring. After the election of DA Jason Williams, Vera Louisiana made policy recommendations to the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office (OPDA) regarding bail, charging, and diversion. OPDA agreed to share data with Vera Louisiana to assess its progress on DA Williams’s early-administration promises and Vera’s recommendations. This report details Vera Louisiana’s findings and offers further recommendations for prosecutorial reform.
Key Takeaway
DA Williams won on a platform of progressive reforms. However, Vera’s evaluation found only modest progress toward these proposed reforms. Racial disparities persisted during the early years of Williams’s administration despite his will to address them. Vera recommends that OPDA implement policy changes to ensure racial equity in case screening and prosecution, mitigate harms associated with criminal legal system involvement, and, when possible, direct people away from the system.
Publication Highlights
While crime trended downward from 2017 to 2022, New Orleanians—especially Black men and boys—continue to experience disproportionate contact with the criminal legal system.
Racial disparities in OPDA’s screening and case processing persisted from those found in case referrals from New Orleans Police Department, underscoring the complexity of reforming inequity inherited from other segments of the criminal legal system.
Elected officials and community members should continue to advocate for efforts that prevent and address root causes of crime and violence—like behavioral health and family supports and community violence intervention and prevention programs.