NEWS & EVENTS

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IJLA April News: In Loving Memory of Rogrick Van Dyke

Mr. Van Dyke was arrested in 2009 and had been serving a life sentence following his 2011 conviction in a Calcasieu Parish homicide case. But medical evidence in his case shows that he was convicted of murdering someone who appears to have died of natural causes while taking potentially dangerous weight loss drugs. Our legal team filed for post-conviction relief in 2022 and sought expedited court review as his health declined, hoping he would have…
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Resource spotlight: Data projects tracking police misconduct, use of force, and employment histories

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.
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Frank Neuner
Frank Neuner

Frank Neuner Legal Fellowship

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.  
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Emily Loubiere
Emily Loubiere

Emily Loubiere Social Work Fellowship

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.
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Louisiana State Police uses force disproportionately against Black people, analysis finds

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.
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IJLA January News: MLK Day and More

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
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Racial Disparities in Louisiana State Police Use of Force (2022–2024)

LLEAD Findings: This report analyzes Louisiana State Police (LSP) use-of-force incidents from 2022–2024 and identifies significant, statewide racial disparities. It presents both the original analysis of all reported use-of-force incidents and a supplemental analysis excluding vehicle pursuit only instances of force, as well as all vehicle pursuit initiated instances of force. Black residents were subject of 60.5% of all use-of-force incidents despite representing just 31% of Louisiana’s population, experiencing force nearly twice as often as expected…
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New Orleans Police Department Facial Recognition Technology Quarterly Reports

LLEAD Findings: This report analyzes all New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) facial recognition technology requests from Q4 2022 through Q1 2025 to assess how FRT is being used and whom it impacts. We found that nearly all FRT requests targeted Black suspects, match rates were low, and several matches produced incorrect leads.
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News Alert! Cheri Hayden is Free!

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.
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Cheri Hayden and her two grandkids
Cheri Hayden and her two grandkids

Cheri Hayden’s Conviction is Definitively Overturned

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.
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Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Join us in the fight for a more just system.

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