Louisiana Voice

“Under that law, the officer who transformed a short traffic stop into an almost two-hour, life-altering ordeal is entitled to qualified immunity. But let us not be fooled by legal jargon. Immunity is not exoneration. And the harm in this case to one man sheds light on the harm done to the nation by this manufactured doctrine. Just as the Supreme Court swept away the doctrine of ‘separate but equal,’ so too should it eliminate the doctrine of qualified immunity,”

–U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, in dismissing the lawsuit of a Black man detained for nearly two hours while his Mercedes was torn apart by a White Mississippi police officer who subsequently found nothing in his vehicle. [Driving black in a white Mercedes in Mississippi….Damn, man, what were you thinking?!]

“This man’s life sentence for a failed attempt to steal a set of hedge clippers is grossly out of proportion to the crime and serves no legitimate penal purpose.”

— Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, in her dissent after the Louisiana Supreme Court denied a request to review the case of a Black man who received a life sentence for stealing a set of hedge clippers 23 years ago. [Meanwhile, Clay Higgins is allowed to fall behind in his child support payments by $100,000 – and he’s elected to congress. A former Louisiana State Penitentiary official was sentenced to five years’ probation in 2017 for stealing nearly $116,000 from a nonprofit committee that provided recreational opportunities for prison employees. A former state senator received four years’ probation earlier this year for making false statements in order to receive money from the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. What’s wrong with this picture? (Of course, Gov. Edwards could do the right thing and commute this man’s sentence.)]