ABOUT PJI
The Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) is a New Orleans-based decarceration organization that stands at the forefront of the fight for the dignity, freedom, and autonomy of those targeted and touched by the criminal legal system and mass incarceration.
Because racism and mass incarceration are entrenched and pervasive, PJI’s approach is multifaceted, including collective action, legislative advocacy, civil and criminal litigation, and reframing narrative discourse. PJI:
Challenges the notion that prisons keep us safe and that people with convictions do not deserve basic rights.
Fights for freedom for people sentenced to die in prison.
Blocks harmful legislation and pushes for legislation that heals and improves lives.
Partners in and co-strategizes social movement work with hundreds of incarcerated people.
Advances the voices of people impacted by violence and mass incarceration
Builds powerful authentic stories, pushes counter-narratives, and changes discourse.
“We who believe in freedom cannot rest.”
— Ella Baker
WHY WE FIGHT
THE INCARCERATION CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the United States (and the U.S. leads the world in incarceration). Many criminal laws in Louisiana are rooted in post-slavery “black codes,” which criminalized everyday activities of black people in order to recapture them for punishment and forced labor.
In the last few decades, mass incarceration has devastated Black, brown, and poor communities across Louisiana. Incarceration removes loved ones, breadwinners, and support systems.
Convictions were fairly easy to get until PJI won Ramos before the Supreme Court - prosecutors now must get unanimous jury verdicts. Many, many people are in jail who are innocent or their was residual doubt about their guilt.
Once in prison, Black people are forced to participate in a degrading labor rooted in plantation slavery, suffer from medical neglect, and if on death row, were subjected to dangerous heat.
WHO WE SERVE
PJI serves incarcerated individuals and families in Louisiana representing more than 7,000 clients and working in 57 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes.
Our work also supports crime survivors, victims’ families, and communities outside of prisons that suffer from the widespread impacts of mass incarceration. We reach thousands of people across the state and the Gulf South, many of whom are disproportionately low-wealth, BIPOC, and living with chronic physical disabilities or mental illnesses. Our impact has spurred massive systems change that reaches all corners of the state, protecting the civil rights of all Louisianans.
THE PJI APPROACH
The Promise of Justice Initiative is governed by a deep belief in the power of people and that people of color and those who are marginalized have a right to freedom, dignity, autonomy, and justice.
PJI is a different kind of civil rights organization; we don’t follow any national agenda or framework. We confront issues and take on cases that, very often, no other organization will venture to challenge. Our work requires deep investments of time, energy, creativity, and collaboration with partner organizations, legal and community stakeholders, and those most directly impacted by the criminal legal system. Our work blurs the traditional lines of litigation and advocacy as we develop and execute novel legal and engagement strategies to attack seemingly intractable problems.
Our methodology is client-centered and community-partnered. We use power building, narrative construction, and storytelling as core vehicles. Our proximity to impacted people, their partnership with us, and our systems-level work inform our strategy. PJI doesn’t guess at problems; we learn about them first-hand from incarcerated people, victims, survivors, and impacted family and community members.
The Promise of Justice Initiative is the most comprehensive statewide organization committed to people living in prison in Louisiana. PJI successfully leverages differentiated tools to challenge problematic and unconstitutional aspects of Louisiana’s legal and incarceration systems using innovative multipronged strategies.
LEGAL ADVOCACY
PJI’s legal work includes attorneys, paralegals, and investigators on Civil Litigation and Strategic Criminal Litigation teams, modeling client-centered and community informed legal advocacy.
ORGANIZING & ADVOCACY
PJI’s Community Impact team organizes and supports impacted people to be agents of change by elevating their voices, taking action, and advocating for change in and for their communities.
DIRECT SUPPORT
PJI’s Client and Family Assistance (CAFA) program connects our clients and their loved ones and supports over 300 currently incarcerated clients in correctional facilities across Louisiana.
WHO WE ARE
PJI’s work is powered by our small yet diverse, committed, and experienced team of professionals. Our team is complemented by a dedicated and accomplished board of directors, an engaged ambassador board, and a regular influx of interns, volunteers, and fellows.
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WORKING IN COALITION
PJI prioritizes deep community collaboration across all our areas of work, stepping up to take the lead when necessary and showing up alongside allies consistently. Our leadership and staff members are deeply involved in and connected to the regional and national ecosystem of experts, advocates, and organizations working toward similar goals.
END PLANTATION PRISONS
Forced Labor in the Bayou State
LISTEN TO THE STORIES OF DIRECTLY IMPACTED PEOPLE
Photo credit to Jackson Hill.
