What We Do
The Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) is a New Orleans based legal organization. Our work includes a unique combination of impact litigation, strategic criminal litigation, organizing, and legislative advocacy. We are bold and we take risks.
At PJI, we believe in the dignity, autonomy, and value of all people, including those in prison and their families. Our work challenges the notion that prisons keep us safe and that people with convictions do not have rights. We believe that those who harm others have been harmed and that healing breaks the cycle.
The Promise of Justice Initiative believes that a better world is possible. We believe in the promise of justice.
Some of our areas of focus include: Ending the death penalty, challenging inhumane conditions of confinement, exposing prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, providing pro bono representation for criminal defendants, and fighting racism in the criminal legal system.
Litigation
We use civil litigation and strategic criminal representation to reform and challenge the injustices of the criminal legal system.
Direct Support
We support our clients and their families directly by organizing family visits, providing funds for commissary, and helping them navigate their incarceration.
Organizing & Advocacy
We use organizing and advocacy to support and elevate impacted people and communities, and advocate for policy change.
Our Core Beliefs
We believe in the promise of a better justice system where communities are safer and more secure.
We work to fulfill that promise by recognizing the value of each client and by confronting the systems that undermine a person’s humanity.
We are committed to the abolition of the death penalty and ending excessive sentences.