Complete Lawlessness at Orleans Parish Prison

This report outlines how the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of Orleans Parish Prison inmates in April 2012. The lawsuit stated that "Rapes, sexual assaults, and beatings are commonplace," at the facility, and that "violence regularly occurs at the hands of sheriffs' deputies, as well as other prisoners...People living with serious mental illnesses languish without treatment, left vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse. These conditions have created a public safety crisis that affects the entire city."