Is Justice Eluding New Orleans ?

Justice is not being served in New Orleans. Commit
a murder there and your chances of walking are fairly
good. Is that because the powers that be in prosecuting
cases are turning their back to black on black crimes and
putting priorities elsewhere like on cases that are a sure
win? Think about it. It takes a lot of work and manpower
to gather enough evidence in some cases to prosecute. With
New Orleans manpower streached thin does this give criminals
the edge and put the general public at greater risk? Check
out the article below and offer up your comments


Garelle Smith, a resident of one of New Orleans' toughest neighborhoods, was already a sort of poster boy for the city's troubled criminal justice system before prosecutors declined to charge him this week in the Aug. 4 slaying of Mandell Duplessis. When Smith was arrested in January, an editorial in the Times-Picayune newspaper noted that he had been a suspect in two previous slayings but never went to trial. The paper called Smith "the beneficiary of a gummed up criminal justice system." If he wasn't put away this time, the paper said, the police chief and head prosecutor would "face the full brunt of an angry public.

"Smith, 25, was released from jail Tuesday.Craig Famularo, chief of the homicide division in the Orleans Parish district attorney's office, said the evidence against Smith was thin.Famularo said police arrested Smith because someone had heard him admit the crime. But two witnesses said Smith was not at the scene.So far, four men have been arrested on suspicion of killing Duplessis, a 24-year-old drug dealer and aspiring rapper. But each has been released because witnesses were either not credible or uncooperative.It is a familiar story in New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina, a study by the Metropolitan Crime Commission found that only 12% of homicide arrests resulted in jail time.




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