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For immediate release March 17, 2005
Contact Heather H. Hall (504) 701-0155
NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Justice Coalition today announces its campaign to generate grassroots support for reform of Louisiana's indigent defense system. Experts consider Louisiana one of the worst indigent defense systems in the country. On March 18, 2005 at 9:00 AM on the steps of the State Capital, the Louisiana Justice Coalition will unveil "Report Cards" on Louisiana's indigent defense system. This press conference immediately precedes a meeting of the state's Indigent Defense Task Force.
Statements from the Louisiana Justice Coalition, Orleans Parish Juvenile Judge Ernestine Gray, civic leader Kathleen Hawk Norman, and State Representative Arthur Morrell will discuss some of the deficiencies and remedies for Louisiana's broken system.
Inadequate and unreliable funding, lack of uniform standards to ensure qualified representation, troubling miscarriages of justice against Louisiana citizens, glaring disparities in investigative resources between prosecutors and public defender's offices and the absence of responsible state oversight are the shameful hallmarks of Louisiana's public defense system.
Nearly a dozen local studies and lawsuits in multiple parishes affirm Louisiana's long-recognized and well-documented failure to provide quality, timely assistance of counsel to indigent persons. The indigent defense system in particular is so weakened in relation to the other criminal justice system components that it calls into question the ability of the entire criminal court system to dispense justice accurately and fairly.
Louisiana supplies law enforcement, corrections and prosecutors with resources that outspend public defenders by a ratio of 3:1. Meanwhile, public defenders, equal partners in a truth-seeking process, operate on a shoestring.
Dale Brown, a founding member of the Louisiana Justice Coalition, stated, "The people of Louisiana need to understand the effect that the failure to provide equal access to justice is having on our young men and women. When a young person comes to court without a public defender that has access to the needed resources to present a fair defense, a message is sent to our youth that they do not matter. When we institutionalize this hopelessness and neglect, we are asking for an escalation in bad behavior. We need to invest in our kids, not simply lock them up and throw away the key."
Failure to allow all people access to justice results in frequent miscarriages of justice. Since 1985, Louisiana has handed down 7 death sentences against innocent people, wrongly sentencing 7 men to 75 years on death row for crimes they did not commit. Two of three men executed since 1999 were represented by court- appointed attorneys who are no longer permitted to practice law.
The Louisiana Justice Coalition (LJC) is a diverse group of state leaders and organizations that are united in their belief that the quality of justice a person receives should not depend on the amount of money he or she has. The LJC recognizes the indigent defense system is in a state of crisis and part of a broken criminal justice system. LJC has initiated a comprehensive public education campaign to highlight the crisis in Louisiana's indigent defense system and to mobilize public pressure from the community. The campaign will create a sustained base for coalition members to continue to advocate for fundamental fairness for all of our citizens.
For decades, Louisiana has violated one of the most highly regarded ideals of American democracy by denying poor people the right to defend themselves on their fair day in court. Every year the Legislature refuses to allocate funds for fairness in Louisiana, despite testimony from national experts that there is already enough money being spent on criminal justice in Louisiana to ensure the meaningful right to counsel for juveniles and adults without raising taxes or creating a revenue stream.
The LJC urges business groups, community organizations, the faith based community, social service providers, and community leaders to join the fight for fairness in criminal justice by calling for reform of Louisiana's indigent defense system.
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