Loyola panel examines Louisiana's exploding prison population

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40,000 people are locked up in Louisiana prisons, and the state’s incarceration rate is the highest in the world, nearly 13 times that of China.

“This discussion comes at an obvious juncture. Louisiana and New Orleans in particular can’t sustain the social and economic costs of mass incarceration,” said Andre Perry, Ph.D., of Loyola University New Orleans.

New Orleans, La (PRWEB) June 19, 2012

The Loyola University New Orleans Institute for Quality and Equity in Education, in conjunction with the Foundation for Louisiana, will host “Louisiana Incarcerated: An Evening with Cindy Chang,” a panel discussion convened to examine the multifaceted issue of the business of incarceration in Louisiana. The event will be held on June 20 at 6 p.m. in the Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall, located in the Communications/Music Complex on the corner of St. Charles Avenue and Calhoun Street.

Chang, special projects reporter for The Times-Picayune and author of the acclaimed eight-part series, “Louisiana Incarcerated,” will discuss what she learned while writing the articles, as well as share the reactions she’s received. Chang’s report indicated that 40,000 people are locked up in Louisiana prisons, and the state’s incarceration rate is the highest in the world, nearly 13 times that of China.

“This discussion comes at an obvious juncture. Louisiana and New Orleans in particular can’t sustain the social and economic costs of mass incarceration,” said Andre Perry, Ph.D., co-host of the event and associate director for the Institute for Quality and Equity in Education. “Our communities deserve the solutions that this discussion should spark.”

The panel will also feature some of Louisiana’s top law enforcement and elected officials, as well as former prisoners and criminal justice advocates:

    James Letten, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana
    Marlin Gusman, Orleans Parish sheriff
    Rep. Wesley Bishop, Louisiana House of Representatives, District 99
    Flozell Daniels, CEO and president, Foundation for Louisiana
    Norris Henderson, executive director, Voice of the Ex-Offender
    Dana Kaplan, executive director, Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana
    Melissa Sawyer, executive director, Youth Empowerment Project
    Adrienne Wheeler, J.D. '11, director, Justice and Accountability Center of Louisiana

The event is sponsored by Orleans Place Matters, an initiative of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

For more information, contact the Institute for Quality and Equity in Education at 504-865-2782 or aperry(at)loyno(dot)edu.

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