LA: orphans of the storm

Recommended by Raymond P. Ward of Minor Wisdom, read this if you haven't read it yet -

Justice on Katrina Time - Hundreds, if not thousands, languish behind bars without their day in court

(I)n post-Katrina New Orleans(,) (a)n untold number of people got "lost" in the prison system in the weeks immediately after the storm... Many are still among the 3,000 active criminal court cases. At least 85% of them qualify for representation by a public defender...

The city's indigent defense system has long been plagued by negligent attorneys who provide haphazard and deficient representation. But in the months after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, the program spiraled into chaos...

Ray observes that the characterization of the attorneys "...is probably an unfair criticism of people who did their best in impossible circumstances."

See also Do Not Pass Geaux.