Law

WBHM’s Mary Scott Hodgin talks with Brittany Brown of the Gulf States Newsroom about issues plaguing Alabama and Mississippi prisons.

Gov. John Bel Edwards declined Wednesday to share his personal views on a leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Officials want to roll back changes made for therapeutic ‘Missouri model’ of care

Advocates in New Orleans work to curb gun violence by focusing on prevention and community needs over policing and aim to spread it across the Gulf South.

The Gulf States Newsroom’s Brittany Brown details the Department of Justice’s scathing report on the Mississippi State Penitentiary, and what comes next.

Louisiana state lawmakers advanced legislation Tuesday that would funnel all 17-year-olds accused of crimes into the adult criminal justice system. Attorney General Jeff Landry and some state prosecutors are pushing for the change less than two years after “Raise the Age” legislation formally ended the practice in Louisiana.

A House Committee shot down a bill Monday that would have rolled back law enforcement officers’ qualified immunity from civil lawsuits. The effort was part of a nationwide push to empower victims of police violence and hold bad actors accountable in civil courts when criminal courts fall short. But many of the law enforcement groups that considered paring down the legal protections for officers last year reversed course.

The head of Louisiana’s prison system is pushing state lawmakers for funding to install air conditioning at its facilities statewide to make it easier to retain correctional officers. None of the seven prisons in the system have air conditioning for prisoner dormitories.

Senate approves congressional map despite Democrats’ and civil rights groups’ opposition and a last-minute revelation that a firm hired by GOP legislative leaders offered input behind closed doors.

The leading proposal from GOP leadership would maintain the current racial makeup of House districts.