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Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI)

@promiseofjustice.bsky.social

280 followers 310 following 160 posts

PJI fights for the dignity, freedom, and autonomy of those targeted and touched by the criminal legal system and for an end to mass incarceration in Louisiana.

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Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · Nov 13

We are a different kind of civil rights org. We don’t follow a national agenda or framework. We confront issues & take on cases that, very often, no other org will venture to challenge. Our work blurs the traditional lines of litigation and advocacy. Learn more: www.promiseofjustice.org/about

About PJI — The Promise of Justice Initiative

www.promiseofjustice.org

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Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 22h

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: "Racial justice demands attention because the aging prison population disproportionately affects communities of color due to historical sentencing disparities."

FAMM Foundation @famm.org · 22h

Why Expanding Compassionate Release Is a Moral and Fiscal Imperative
(via @npquarterly.bsky.social)

https://pulse.ly/vsfeiqd0hq

Why Expanding Compassionate Release Is a Moral and Fiscal Imperative - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

The nation today imprisons a rapidly aging population. Not only does this practice result in thousands of deaths in prison, but it is very costly. Policy reform is required.

pulse.ly

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 2d

Join us this Thursday at 5:30PM at 12 Mile Limit for a night of fun, community, and impact! Every dollar raised fuels the fight for justice and supports PJI’s work right here in #Louisiana.

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 5d

"So when I say that Angola is the worst place that I have ever been, I say it with the painful expertise of many years behind bars. I am here not because... I committed any new crime...I am here because ICE is rounding up everyone they can."

veritenews.org/2025/09/26/l...

I won protection from torture in El Salvador. At Angola, I now face torture by the U.S. government.

A person held in detention at a newly created immigration unit in Angola prison says ICE is not providing medical care or allowing regular communication with the outside world.

veritenews.org

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 9d

Researcher and "Secrets of the Killing State" author @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social's author talk was equal parts informative and illuminating when it comes to the secrecy surrounding executions generally speaking as well as how lethal injections have become more commonplace as an execution method.

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 12d

It's said prisons don't solve problems, they only disappear them from our communities. What problems are further exacerbated when combining the heat & humidity of #Louisiana w/the confinement, power imbalance, additional abuses, and lack of autonomy & care found within a prison? #CarceralClimates

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 13d

Unable to join us IRL. Register to watch this urgent and important discussion virtually here: bit.ly/sotks-watch

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 15d

With the book also discussing gassing as an execution method and Louisiana committing its first execution since 2010 via gassing, this conversation has never been more urgent and necessary. bit.ly/sotks-nola

Author Talk: “Secrets of the Killing State” with Corrina Barrett Lain — The Promise of Justice Initiative

In Louisiana and across the country, governments are going to extreme lengths to execute people despite public support declining dramatically over the last several years. Join the Promise of Justice I...

bit.ly

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 15d

We invite you to join us tomorrow at the Community Book Center for an author talk between PJI's Samantha Kennedy and "Secrets of the Killing State" author, researcher and law professor, @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social on lethal injections and the secrecy surrounding this execution method.

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Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 17d

The #NOLA Noname Book Club (NNBC) chapter returns this Sat to John Thompson Legacy Center for 1PM! Each month a book written by a Black author is chosen and discussed. September's pick is "Sister Outsider" by Audre Lorde. Interested in attending? DM us for more info.

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 22d

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: "Prisons also perpetuate and exacerbate the very climate hazards they are woefully unprepared to face."

Truthout @truthout.org · 23d

Even without climate change, prisons around the country have billions of dollars worth of deferred maintenance just to stop the walls from crumbling and keep the lights and the heat on. Now, climate change is turning already miserable conditions inside of prisons into life-threatening ones.

As Prisons Deal With Heat Waves, Climate Crisis Makes Abolition Even More Urgent

While the planet continues to warm, conditions in prisons, and specifically in solitary confinement, continue to worsen.

buff.ly

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 24d

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: “Law enforcement illegally withholding evidence from defendants is a leading cause of wrongful convictions that is particularly prevalent in Louisiana."

veritenews.org/2025/08/27/a...

Will an overturned murder rap free this Angola prisoner?

Keith Ezidore has been in prison in Angola for 34 years of his daughter’s life. With his conviction recently overturned, there’s a chance he may soon come home.

veritenews.org

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 24d

Read "108 Degrees", an essay by incarcerated writer and author Tut Waterman about the conditions inside a #Virigina based prison with no air conditioning (via @truthout.org out and @inquest.bsky.social) here: inquest.org/108-degrees/ #CarceralClimates

108 Degrees - Tutankhamon Waterman - Inquest

Eight Virginia prisons currently have no air-conditioning. We go to sleep in sweat and wake up in sweat, with no respite from dangerous heat.

inquest.org

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 24d

Can you imagine being forced to share space with a group of people in 108 degree heat? Would you be able to remain calm if conflict arose and tensions were high? In what ways would you stay cool if your movement and resources were extremely limited and there was no A/C or handheld fans?⁠

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 26d

Join us on Thurs, 9/25 for an important discussion b/w PJI's Samantha Kennedy & author @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social Lain on her book, "Secrets of the Killing State." This event will explore the troubling realities of #lethalinjection and its implications in Louisiana. 🔗: bit.ly/sotks-nola

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Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 27d

#CurrentlyReading ➡️: “The state was aware that the (heat) index could rise rapidly within within periods of less than an hour, yet protection remained inadequate to prevent serious harm."

The Lens Nola @thelensnola.bsky.social · 29d

#TheLensNola🔍 Order continues for the second consecutive summer. Once the heat index hits 88 degrees, the DOC must provide some relief to the men working for pennies an hour in the prison’s fields.

✍️ Bernard Smith

Full Story 🔗: buff.ly/T6P6YPk

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 29d

Join us for 5:30PM at the Hale Boggs Building (500 Poydras St.) as we discuss some of our programmatic work and insights about #massincarceration and how you can join us on the route to safety, justice, and accountability.

Read the full story here: veritenews.org/2025/09/09/c...

Critical Mass NOLA cyclists hold community engagement rides

Critical Mass NOLA has been hosting a series of community engagement bike rides throughout New Orleans this summer.

veritenews.org

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · 29d

Thanks to Robert Stewart of Verite News for speaking with our Director of Community Impact about tonight's community engagement bike ride with Critical Mass NOLA, Freedom to Grow NOLA, VOTE, Eye on Surveillance NOLA, and New Orleans Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression!

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Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · Sep 8

Fast forward to 2025, where there have been only 11 days this summer (June - August) w/temps below 90°.⁠
⁠
As residents across the state continue to brave this sweltering heat in a variety of ways, we wanted to share the experiences of those who have very limited resources and are subject to...

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · Sep 8

heat-related illnesses and potentially death for the thousands of men incarcerated there.⁠
⁠
Summers in Louisiana become more difficult by the year with triple digit heat being recorded in 2023. That same year, former governor, John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in August.

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · Sep 8

#DidYouKnow that Louisiana has a total of 13 carceral facilities with the Louisiana State Penitentiary (A/K/A as Angola), being the largest with 18,000 acres. Like many prisons throughout the South, Angola lacks proper air conditioning (allegedly 4 areas of the prison have A/C), resulting in...

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Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · Sep 5

WATCH yesterday’s press conference with exonerees and experts with @cifsjustice.org as they called on Texas authorities to prevent the wrongful execution of Robert Roberson on 10/16/25 for a crime that never occurred.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwwL...

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · Sep 4

This Saturday, we celebrate the life and legacy of John Thompson not only on what would have been his 63rd birthday, but also the 3rd anniversary of the John Thompson Legacy Center's opening.

RSVP here: www.eventbrite.com/e/celebratin...

Celebrating the Life and Legacy of John Thompson

Join us on JT's birthday as we launch the Resurrection Archives

www.eventbrite.com

Reposted by Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI)

The Real News Network @therealnews.com · Sep 2

The @promiseofjustice.bsky.social's injunction requiring "Heat Alerts" on Angola’s Farm Line at 88°F+ heat index has been extended 90 more days by the U.S. District Court.

Read more: therealnews.com/prisoners-su...

'Purposefully simulating chattel slavery': Prisoners sue over 'inhumane' conditions on Angola's brutal Farm Line

A groundbreaking lawsuit representing prisoners forced to work in “inhumane” conditions could finally put an end to Angola prison’s notorious “Farm Line.”

therealnews.com

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Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · Aug 29

We heard from several of our former clients who are now free about what it was like to watch their worlds implode from a television set at Angola during #HurricaneKatrina.

Please listen to When All You Can Do Is Watch: Hurricane Katrina from Inside Angola (4 of 4). 📷️: Jackson Hill

Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) @promiseofjustice.bsky.social · Aug 28

At PJI, when we think of the incredible devastation of Katrina & the failures of our government, we are called to remember those whom are so easily forgotten – our friends and neighbors inside of prison.

When All You Can Do Is Watch: #HurricaneKatrina From Inside Angola (3 of 4).

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