As the District Attorney in New Orleans, Jason Williams is faced with a nearly impossible task. He must balance the job of being the prosecutor in a city that has had one of the nation’s highest murder rates for more than 30 years with the imperative of righting the wrongs of an office that has not always operated fairly.
Jason led the New Orleans City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee when I was a public safety consultant for the council, so it was a great joy to get to talk to him about his work in New Orleans as he approaches the end of his first term.
In this conversation, we discuss the challenges of balancing crime reduction with justice and how the innovative “N.O.D.I.C.E” program (New Orleans Data Informed Community Engagement) addresses the geographic footprint of crime in New Orleans. Jason emphasizes the importance of data-driven decision-making, community engagement, and the myriad of challenges stemming from non-unanimous juries in Louisiana.
The Honorable Jason Rogers Williams was sworn in as District Attorney of Orleans Parish on January 11, 2021. He is a proud Tulane University Law School Alumni. After graduating law school, he started his own law practice focused on criminal defense, Jason Rogers Williams and Associates. After winning a series of high-profile criminal cases, the Louisiana Supreme Court appointed Jason as a judge in New Orleans’ Criminal District Court. In 2014, he saw an opportunity to make government work for the people of New Orleans and ran for City Council. He was a council member for six years, four of which he served as Council President, before being elected District Attorney on a promise of sweeping justice reforms. Jason is a proud and devoted father to three children: 5-year-old Xavier, 17-year-old Graham, and 23-year-old Zoe. He lives in uptown New Orleans with his wife, Liz, founder of the Center of Resilience, his youngest son, and a very sweet but very bossy pit bull, Jean Louise.
Resources:
- Learn More: Jason Rogers Williams’ Website
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