Thread by @reveal

1/ In a recent episode, we dug into how a three strikes law, in the hands of one Louisiana district attorney, puts thousands of people behind bars, often for decades, often for nonviolent crimes. revealnews.org/episodes/10-ye…

2/ And fun fact: That story grew from another one @starecheski, @Eve_Abrams and @evetroeh worked on about @OrleansDefender: revealnews.org/episodes/if-yo…

3/ Since then, @Eve_Abrams kept tabs on how New Orleans’ chief prosecutor, DA Leon Cannizzaro, used Louisiana’s three strikes law (also known as the habitual-offender law or repeat-offender law) to hand out decades-long sentences – sometimes even for stealing candy.

4/ By the way: The way Cannizzaro and DAs from New Orleans suburbs use the habitual-offender law is out of step with every other DA in the state:
theadvocate.com/new_orleans/ne…

5/ And lawyers and people who work in city government told @Eve_Abrams that the way Cannizzaro uses Louisiana’s habitual-offender law was a big reason why Louisiana locks up so many people – most of whom are Black men. theadvocate.com/new_orleans/ne…

6/ @Eve_Abrams also read @JohnFPfaff ’s book about prosecutors, Locked In. It's a useful resource, she said, for better understanding how prosecutors do their jobs and how their decisions can pack our prisons.

7/ As Laura @starecheski and @Eve_Abrams homed in their story about prosecutors, Eve mapped out some key findings and ideas:

8/ Meanwhile, @Eve_Abrams was keeping tabs on DA Cannizzaro’s use of “DA subpoenas” ...
thelensnola.org/2018/07/09/new…

9/ ... and Cannizzaro’s practice of jailing crime witnesses, and even victims, who refuse to cooperate with his office.

Read: theadvocate.com/new_orleans/ne…

Read: newyorker.com/news/news-desk…

10/ @Eve_Abrams started exchanging letters with Prince Albert, who’s currently serving time on drug possession charges. Prince was prosecuted by DA Cannizzaro under the habitual-offender law. He became addicted to the pain medication his Navy doctors prescribed him.

11/ Prince is still locked up, seven years into his sentence. He’s been waiting for months to be transferred to a jail with a vocational program so he can learn welding.

12/ @Eve_Abrams played him our recent episode over the phone. It took three phone calls and cost $11.25.

“I’m hoping some good come out of it,” he said.

13/ For more stories like this, sign up for our newsletter: revealnews.org/newsletter