Last week marked the 56th anniversary of the Supreme Court ordering public schools across the South to be desegregated immediately. This action would come 15 years after Brown v. Board of Education ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional... ⁠

Last Tues, the FCC reversed course on capping prison phone call rates prioritizing the demands & profits of the telecommunications companies over incarcerated people & their loved ones. The FCC's new regulations, would've saved families $500M+ a year. Read more here: veritenews.org/2025/10/28/f...

Last week, the FCC reversed course on capping prison phone call rates prioritizing the demands and profits of the telecommunications companies over incarcerated people & their loved ones. The FCC's new regulations, passed just last year, would've saved families over $500M a year.

Yesterday, our dear friend & client, Lloyd Gray was granted a new hearing based on newly discovered evidence of racial discrimination! Lloyd has been incarcerated for the last 45 yrs due to a nonunanimous jury conviction where two of the jurors who found him not guilty were Black...

“I said, ‘Your case is still alive.’ And he said, ‘I knew it would be.’ So he had faith through and through. And his faith carries our faith.” 💚🖤

🗣️: CALLING ALL RISING 2L AND 3L LAW STUDENTS!⁠ ⁠ We're currently accepting applications for our summer legal internship. Although applications are accepted on a rolling basis, we encourage people to apply early because there are a limited number of spots. Learn more here: promiseofjustice.org/jobs

The Historic New Orleans Collection recently explored how #Louisiana became the carceral capital of the world in an exhibition entitled “Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration" & released a powerful new book w/the same name. WATCH here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsGI...

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: "I'm always in some state of being punished, having been punished, or about to be punished." (via @boltsmag.org) boltsmag.org/designed-to-...

Join us this Saturday, 10/25 for 1PM at the John Thompson Legacy Ctr for the #NOLA chapter meetup of Noname Book Club (NNBC). Each month a book written by a Black author is chosen & discussed. This month's pick is "Assata: An Autobiography." Interested in attending? RSVP here: [email protected]

ICYMI: Jessie Hoffman's spiritual advisor, Rev. Reimoku Smith, spoke about his relationship with Jessie, the first person executed by the State of LA. in 15 yrs, on World Day Against the Death Penalty. WATCH the full webinar: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lv0...

In late September, a Baton Rouge federal judge took a major step in the long-running litigation about “overdetention" or when an incarcerated person is held in prison past the end of their legal release date.

Thanks to Corinna, @pageonem.bsky.social, and the Community Book Center for helping us bring the "Secrets of the Killing State" book tour to New Orleans! 💚🖤

**REMINDER: Don't forget to join us today for 5:30PM at the Twelve Mile Limit for our #happyhour fun-raiser! A portion of this event's signature cocktail, "The Bees Knees", will go to the Promise of Justice's programmatic work.

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: "Racial justice demands attention because the aging prison population disproportionately affects communities of color due to historical sentencing disparities."

Join us this Thursday at 5:30PM at 12 Mile Limit for a night of fun, community, and impact! Every dollar raised fuels the fight for justice and supports PJI’s work right here in #Louisiana.

"So when I say that Angola is the worst place that I have ever been, I say it with the painful expertise of many years behind bars. I am here not because... I committed any new crime...I am here because ICE is rounding up everyone they can." veritenews.org/2025/09/26/l...

Researcher and "Secrets of the Killing State" author @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social's author talk was equal parts informative and illuminating when it comes to the secrecy surrounding executions generally speaking as well as how lethal injections have become more commonplace as an execution method.

It's said prisons don't solve problems, they only disappear them from our communities. What problems are further exacerbated when combining the heat & humidity of #Louisiana w/the confinement, power imbalance, additional abuses, and lack of autonomy & care found within a prison? #CarceralClimates

Unable to join us IRL. Register to watch this urgent and important discussion virtually here: bit.ly/sotks-watch

We invite you to join us tomorrow at the Community Book Center for an author talk between PJI's Samantha Kennedy and "Secrets of the Killing State" author, researcher and law professor, @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social on lethal injections and the secrecy surrounding this execution method.

The #NOLA Noname Book Club (NNBC) chapter returns this Sat to John Thompson Legacy Center for 1PM! Each month a book written by a Black author is chosen and discussed. September's pick is "Sister Outsider" by Audre Lorde. Interested in attending? DM us for more info.

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: "Prisons also perpetuate and exacerbate the very climate hazards they are woefully unprepared to face."

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: “Law enforcement illegally withholding evidence from defendants is a leading cause of wrongful convictions that is particularly prevalent in Louisiana." veritenews.org/2025/08/27/a...

Join us on Thurs, 9/25 for an important discussion b/w PJI's Samantha Kennedy & author @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social Lain on her book, "Secrets of the Killing State." This event will explore the troubling realities of #lethalinjection and its implications in Louisiana. 🔗: bit.ly/sotks-nola

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: “The state was aware that the (heat) index could rise rapidly within within periods of less than an hour, yet protection remained inadequate to prevent serious harm."

Thanks to Robert Stewart of Verite News for speaking with our Director of Community Impact about tonight's community engagement bike ride with Critical Mass NOLA, Freedom to Grow NOLA, VOTE, Eye on Surveillance NOLA, and New Orleans Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression!

#DidYouKnow that Louisiana has a total of 13 carceral facilities with the Louisiana State Penitentiary (A/K/A as Angola), being the largest with 18,000 acres. Like many prisons throughout the South, Angola lacks proper air conditioning (allegedly 4 areas of the prison have A/C), resulting in...

WATCH yesterday’s press conference with exonerees and experts with @cifsjustice.org as they called on Texas authorities to prevent the wrongful execution of Robert Roberson on 10/16/25 for a crime that never occurred. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwwL...

This Saturday, we celebrate the life and legacy of John Thompson not only on what would have been his 63rd birthday, but also the 3rd anniversary of the John Thompson Legacy Center's opening. RSVP here: www.eventbrite.com/e/celebratin...

The @promiseofjustice.bsky.social's injunction requiring "Heat Alerts" on Angola’s Farm Line at 88°F+ heat index has been extended 90 more days by the U.S. District Court. Read more: therealnews.com/prisoners-su...

With the 20th anniversary of #HurricaneKatrina approaching, we spoke with several of our former clients who were incarcerated and separated from their families during the storm & following man-made disaster. When all you can do is watch: Hurricane Katrina from inside Angola. 📸: Jackson Hill

“After 45 years, I’m no closer to freedom than the day I walked into this place.” ⁠ ⁠ Read the story of Lloyd Gray, one of the many incarcerated men unconstitutionally convicted due to #Louisiana's racist tactic of #JimCrowJuries: www.propublica.org/article/loui...

2 weeks ago, court proceedings for the ongoing "Farm Line" litigation, VOTE v. LeBlanc took place in The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals as a panel of judges heard arguments on whether to affirm the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana's injunction issued in...

Join EBRP Prison Reform Coalition tomorrow at 6PM for the Death in Custody Rose Ceremony honoring the life and memory of Maressa Mays who was found dead in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. www.eventbrite.com/e/ebrp-priso...

"Parker is among a dozen named plaintiffs in an ongoing 2015 class-action lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections... The suit alleged that the prison’s medical care caused inmates to suffer serious harm, including the “exacerbation of existing conditions...

⬇️ CTA for clemency justice happening today! ⬇️

"What can we do right now ourselves, together?" Just a few days after this year's @netrootsnation.bsky.social n conference in #NewOrleans, we continue to sit with and be reminded of the words of Elaine Brown, former chair of the Black Panthers.

"Prison is another form of the same plantation, because we on that plantation. As a 17-year-old kid, that was my chance to make my ancestors proud by refusing to do what they were forced to do." - Terrance Winn, #nn25 panelist, formerly incarcerated at Angola, advocate for FIP

“Not only will men continue to swelter at Camp J, but they will also endure either overcrowding in solitary cells or be kept in isolation – a severe punishment... shown to be tantamount to abuse, torture, and is dangerous and ineffective.” - Samantha Kennedy www.nola.com/news/crime_p...

Join our staff next Thurs at @netrootsnation.bsky.social's 20th annual conference for panels at both 12PM & 3:45PM as we screen our doc, "Plantations and Prisons: A History of Forced Labor in Louisiana" and discuss mobilizing efforts to shift public opinion on mass incarceration/the death penalty.

Congrats to PJI Deputy Director, Lauren Sapp on being selected for this year's @gambitweekly.bsky.social 40 Under 40 list! Lauren marks the third PJI staffer to receive this recognition in the last five years. Please join us in congratulating her on this awesome achievement!

Thanks to the Black Film Festival of New Orleans, our film, "Plantations and Prisons: A History of Forced Labor in Louisiana" t/o the summer during the Freedom Summer Film Festival!⁠ Use the instructions on the image below to secure your free all access pass.

Come work with us at the Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI)! Interested in pushing for a legal system that recognizes freedom & dignity as universal rights? Learn more about the Development Director position and apply by clicking the following 🔗: promiseofjustice.org/jobs

WATCH the full "Rattling The Bars" interview here: therealnews.com/prisoners-su...

PJI Sr. Staff Attorney, Samantha Pourciau recently spoke with @therealnews.com's Mansa Musa about about PJI & @rightsbehindbars.bsky.social's ongoing "Farm Line" litigation, which looks to end the longstanding practice of forced agricultural labor taking place at the Louisiana State Penitentiary.

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: "When Calvin saw the elderly men able to eat—that simple, precious act—he fell in love with the law. He could wield the very thing holding him in prison to challenge those who had taken his freedom. The law gave him a way to fight back."

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: "When Calvin saw the elderly men able to eat—that simple, precious act—he fell in love with the law. He could wield the very thing holding him in prison to challenge those who had taken his freedom. The law gave him a way to fight back." thelensnola.org/2025/07/08/w...

⁠Join us tomorrow for 5:30PM at Galaxie Tacos as we raise funds for our Client and Family Assistance (CAFA) Program, the direct services arm of PJI. A portion of the proceeds goes towards helping us continue this work, which centers the well being & personhood of our incarcerated clients.

Cowing to sheriffs angry that they’ve lost their kickbacks, the FCC is suddenly delaying rate relief on calls for families impacted by incarceration — for 2 YEARS. Tell the FCC to #StopTheDelay and implement the rules NOW at connectfamiliesnow.com/stopthedelay.

Happy Publication Day to friend, thought partner, and former PJI board member Calvin Duncan! 🎉🥳🎉