“It hasn’t been treated as if we are in a global pandemic and people are dying every day. It is definitely, in New Orleans, business as usual as it relates to bail … The time is now; we need to act now. We need to get folks out of there now, like we can talk about the logistics later. Right now we need to move and get folks out of jail.”

NEW ORLEANS (WDSU) - The mayor of New Orleans is encouraging recently released inmates to take advantage of a stimulus program to help them re-enter society during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued the following statement on the launch of “Returning Citizen Stimulus Program,” a collaboration between the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) and its partners:

FROM UNPRISONED: STORIES FROM THE SYSTEM | WWNO (NPR)

BY CAMILA DOMONOSKE | WWNO (NPR)

BY SYRITA STEIB | THE ADVOCATE - With the highest incarceration rate in the nation, Louisiana’s crowded prisons and what to do with them has been a topic of much debate for decades. Now, as New Orleans faces high COVID-19 infection rates in the world, a widespread outbreak in its overpopulated jails is a recipe for disaster.