Katrina Jails

Jack O’Brien Wiki Page
1/06/09 Science

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What Happened To The Inmates And Jails During Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was easily the worst hurricane of the 21st century. The hurricane killed many but the worst of it all was the flooding from the Levees being broken. That caused mold and even more deaths of people. People’s houses were destroyed if not by Katrina then by the flood. I wondered what happened to the jails and inmates. There was one jail in the city or New Orleans. There were 6,500 inmates attending the jail. Before the storm 60% of the inmates were released due to non conviction. They were only the people in jail for traffic violations, being public drunkenness, or not being able to pay a fine. People who were convicted and were serving their sentences stayed in jail and were moved to higher ground. Three days later they were moved to a temporary jail.

What Happened To The Jail On The Day Of The Storm
The jail flooded 6 to 10 feet the day of the storm. There was no power after Katrina hit. The inmates did have food and water otherwise, they could have been dead. No prisoners got stuck or died in the flood but there were 4 escapes accounted for. The police and the prison guards left the inmates alone in the jail without any supervision.

Whats Going On Now After Katrina?
Now that Katrina is over there are still 517 prisoners are unaccounted for which means they can be dead or escaped. Lawyers are trying to figure out what happened to them. There were no police men in the jail and they left the prisoners locked up. Some of the prisoners kicked at the door for an hour or two until the door was off the hinge. There were also people on top of the water trying to get to the top of their bunk so they could be as high up as possible. A prisoner inside the building said it was total chaos he said that there were older people who prisoners were trying to help since the elder’s had no medicine since there was no supervision.

Thank You For Helping Me:
http://www.alternet.org/katrina/26073/

http://www.democracynow.org/2005/9/27/after_the_hurricane_where_have_all

http://dystopolitik.blogspot.com/2008/04/prisoners-of-katrina-part-i-troubled.html

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