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Louisiana State Police uses force disproportionately against Black people, analysis finds

A three-year analysis of Louisiana State Police data shows troopers use force against Black people at a rate that’s out of proportion with their share of the state’s population. Black residents represent 31% of Louisiana population, yet they accounted for 902 use-of-force incidents involving state troopers from 2022-24, or 60.5% of all recorded, according to a data analysis report from Innocence & Justice Louisiana.
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IJLA January News: MLK Day and More

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. . . . Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider. – Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, August 1963
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Racial Disparities in Louisiana State Police Use of Force (2022–2024)

LLEAD Findings: This report analyzes Louisiana State Police (LSP) use-of-force incidents from 2022–2024 and identifies significant, statewide racial disparities. It presents both the original analysis of all reported use-of-force incidents and a supplemental analysis excluding vehicle pursuit only instances of force, as well as all vehicle pursuit initiated instances of force. Black residents were subject of 60.5% of all use-of-force incidents despite representing just 31% of Louisiana’s population, experiencing force nearly twice as often as expected…
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New Orleans Police Department Facial Recognition Technology Quarterly Reports

LLEAD Findings: This report analyzes all New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) facial recognition technology requests from Q4 2022 through Q1 2025 to assess how FRT is being used and whom it impacts. We found that nearly all FRT requests targeted Black suspects, match rates were low, and several matches produced incorrect leads.
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News Alert! Cheri Hayden is Free!

With your support, Cheri is free and can now be at home with her family for the holidays while IJLA continues to advocate for her in court for full exoneration. Thank you to everyone whose overwhelming generosity has made this moment possible.
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Cheri Hayden and her two grandkids
Cheri Hayden and her two grandkids

Cheri Hayden’s Conviction is Definitively Overturned

Cheri Hayden’s conviction has been definitively overturned! After being overturned TWICE by the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, on November 19, 2025, the Louisiana Supreme Court has declined to intervene in Cheri Hayden’s case. Cheri Hayden’s conviction has been definitively overturned. Innocence & Justice Louisiana will be filing for bail so that she can be released.
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IJLA November News: Ricky Thomas is Free + More

Last month, we celebrated the release of Ricky Thomas, who served more than 20 years of a life sentence for burglary under Louisiana’s habitual offender law. When he was sentenced in 2005, Ricky had no hope of release. But even in the face of a life sentence, he refused to give up. Over the course of two decades, he completed vocational training in pest control, served as a groundskeeper, joined multiple ministries, and became a…
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On Wrongful Conviction Day, Help Us by Fighting for Prosecutorial Accountability in Louisiana

After more than 24 years as Innocence Project New Orleans, and after much careful deliberation with our staff, board, clients, and allies, we are excited to announce our new name: Innocence & Justice Louisiana. Our new name and new brand reflect the full scope of the work we have been doing: we work across the state of Louisiana freeing people who are innocent and those who are in prison unjustly, supporting them in freedom.
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Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Join us in the fight for a more just system.

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