[{"command":"settings","settings":{"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"ajaxPageState":{"libraries":"views\/views.ajax,views\/views.module","theme":"hrw_design","theme_token":null},"ajaxTrustedUrl":[],"views":{"ajax_path":"\/views\/ajax","ajaxViews":{"views_dom_id:blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__376263__en":{"view_name":"blog_live_feed","view_display_id":"blog_body_block","view_args":"376263","view_path":"\/blog\/content\/376263","view_base_path":null,"view_dom_id":"blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__376263__en","pager_element":0}}},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"0ae5601d8790ff50fca3cf23b9ac9170285f2f75823ebdc8d9cc054bc03a679b"}},"merge":true},{"command":"add_css","data":"\u003Clink rel=\u0022stylesheet\u0022 media=\u0022all\u0022 href=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/css\/css_rT06N1hzNwWZvlauEGw5ZNFVKBrR23ibx56HC8Lyx4M.css\u0022 \/\u003E\n"},{"command":"add_js","selector":"body","data":[{"src":"\/sites\/default\/files\/js\/js_svkrpusmrjSaaV8heRnsa8-TbrEsMLumxMQD8vstdR8.js"}]},{"command":"insert","method":"replaceWith","selector":".js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__376263__en","data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__376263__en\u0022\u003E\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \u003Cdiv\u003E\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022blog-block__content__description rich-text pt-6 mb:pt-10 mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EFifteen years ago, I sat in a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hotel room, watching with a growing sense of dread as the first reports rolled in of the path of destruction cut through the southern US state by Hurricane Katrina\u2019s fury.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI had only lived in New Orleans for a month; I had few friends, no vehicle, or plan to evacuate. Thankfully, my neighbors loaded me into their van to escape the storm. I returned to New Orleans four months later and spent the following three years pitching in on rebuilding the city and soaking up its culture and community of this unique city.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EYet on the eve of the 15th anniversary of Katrina, and as we assess Hurricane Laura\u2019s path of destruction, human rights in Louisiana remain at risk, particularly for Black and brown people who are disproportionately imprisoned and impoverished.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIf one ever needed proof of how cruel the US criminal legal system can be, they need only look to Katrina, where\u00a0\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2005\/09\/21\/new-orleans-prisoners-abandoned-floodwaters\u0022\u003Einmates were abandoned\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0as toxic flood waters rose to their chests. Prisoners\u2019\u00a0\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2005\/10\/30\/excerpts-letters-prisoners-abandoned-katrina\u0022\u003Eletters\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0to Human Rights Watch describe their terror. Then, after inmates were finally evacuated from that traumatic experience, they faced\u00a0\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2005\/10\/02\/louisiana-after-katrina-inmates-face-prison-abuse\u0022\u003Efresh abuse\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0at the prisons to which they were moved.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ELouisiana counties currently have some of the\u00a0\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/trends.vera.org\/incarceration-rates?data=localJail\u0026amp;geography=counties\u0022\u003Ehighest jail incarceration rates\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0in the country. Today, authorities\u2019\u00a0\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2020\/04\/29\/averting-imminent-catastrophe-recommendations-us-local-state-and-federal-officials\u0022\u003Eduty to protect\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0people in custody encompasses not just the threat of storms but also Covid-19. This includes protecting\u00a0\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2020\/05\/15\/us-free-detained-asylum-seekers-pandemic\u0022\u003Edetained asylum seekers\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0and others held in immigration detention. A huge portion of the country\u2019s immigration detainees are held in rural Louisiana, where\u00a0\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2020\/04\/30\/us-new-report-shines-spotlight-abuses-and-growth-immigrant-detention-under-trump\u0022\u003Efacilities have proliferated under the Trump administration\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2020\/08\/29\/hurricane-katrina-us-15-years-later\u0022\u003ERead more \u0026gt; \u0026gt; \u0026gt;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n\u003C\/div\u003E\n","settings":null}]