Innocence & Justice Louisiana is proud to announce the launch of the Frank Neuner Legal Fellowship to honor attorney Frank X. Neuner, Jr. and his steadfast commitment to justice and fairness.
The family of Emily Loubiere and Innocence & Justice Louisiana are proud to announce the creation of the Emily Loubiere Social Work Fellowship. The fellowship honors the life, values, and legacy of Emily Michelle Loubiere and will focus on expanding long-term, trauma-informed support for individuals before and after their release from prison.
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…
Police misconduct is notoriously difficult to track, penalize, and prevent, a problem that advocates have increasingly focused on in the years since the murder of George Floyd. In the time since we published a list of policing resources in 2020, advocates and researchers have been working to collect, analyze, and publish data from public records produced by various state and local law enforcement agencies.
You’re invited to join Innocence & Justice Louisiana on March 16, 2026, for an intimate evening featuring conversations with our clients who have survived wrongful conviction and unjust punishment, featuring Calvin Duncan.
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.
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
Join Innocence & Justice Louisiana on March 4, 2026, for Stand For Justice Acadiana featuring Calvin Duncan and the Justice Award presentation honoring Frank Neuner.
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.
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.
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…
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.
Innocence & Justice Louisiana is a short film that premiered at our gala in September, marking the launch of our new name and brand. The film traces the evolution of Innocence Project New Orleans into Innocence & Justice Louisiana and highlights our ongoing fight for freedom and justice across the…
BY JOY HOLDEN | The Advocate Sullivan Walter, 56, sat at a conference table in the small converted house that now functions as Innocence & Justice Louisiana, formerly known as Innocent Project New Orleans. He choked back tears when he recalled the moment he read a letter from Richard Davis,…
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Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Join us in the fight for a more just system.