When Louisiana passed a set of bipartisan, data-driven criminal justice reforms two years ago, the legislation was rightly hailed as a historic step forward for a state that was long known as a poster child for our country’s mass incarceration crisis.
Since then, these reforms have helped us shed the shameful title of prison capital of the world — while enabling smart investments that are making our communities stronger and safer. More than $8 million has already been reinvested in programs to improve public safety, support victims, and help formerly incarcerated people re-enter society.
But this historic step forward must be followed by many more if we’re serious about fixing our broken criminal justice system and building a future that prioritizes people rather than prisons.
Read Alanah Odoms Hebert's full column published in The Advocate.
