Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

This Article focuses on the promise and challenges of progressive prosecution through the lens of the election of Jason R. Williams to Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office. Orleans Parish was the epicenter of mass incarceration, wrongful convictions, violence, and racism over the last thirty years. The election of Jason Williams as District Attorney in 2021 resulted in policy changes in the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office. In the first two years of the administration, incarceration rates dropped by one-third, impacting over one thousand people. Dozens of individuals serving draconian punishments for lowlevel offenses were resentenced. Eighteen individuals were exonerated. But as well, compromises were made. Policies articulated in a vacuum were difficult to maintain. Criticism came from progressives and conservatives alike. Many of the salient challenges and possibilities of this reform are detailed to allow participants, practitioners, advocates and scholars to assess the promise of progressive prosecution.

Publication Title

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW

Volume

77

Issue

1

First Page

1

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