Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office Civil Rights Division Upholding the Rule of Law

The Civil Rights Division (CRD) of the Orleans Parish District Attorneys (OPDA) Office seeks funding to support a conviction review project in an office that has already vacated 24 wrongful convictions in its first three years. CRD was formed in 2021 to acknowledge, confront, and rectify past harms done by the criminal legal system in New Orleans, the incarceration capital of the world. New Orleans also leads the nation in wrongful convictions. After a productive, federally funded partnership with the local innocence organization, CRD identified the need for significant resources to review the cases of hundreds of prisoners who claim wrongful conviction but are not represented by the local innocence organization, pro se prisoners, or those referred by counsel on another issue. This project will fund an experienced Conviction Review Unit within the CRD. The unit will review hundreds of traditional New Orleans Police Department investigations and Orleans Parish District Attorneys prosecutions, the very cases that have caused scores of proven wrongful convictions to date. Some cases will involve re-analysis or comparison of forensic evidence, but the majority will involve ascertaining the veracity or reliability of traditional evidence and investigating the existence of evidence of innocence. To prevent future wrongful convictions, CRD will communicate wrongful conviction causes in media stories and office-produced resources and use them as teaching devices within the office and in detective training at the New Orleans Police Department. CRD has the expertise and track record to remedy injustices, communicate those stories to learn from mistakes, and increase safety by building community trust.