Immediately after Katrina, violent crime all but disappeared from New Orleans as the city lost about half of its pre-hurricane population. But the police chief says that 80% of its criminals have come home, and a headline in last week's Times-Picayune read "Killings bring the city to its bloodied knees." Recent murder victims include Dinerral Shavers, a 25-year old high school teacher and drummer for the Hot 8 Brass Band, gunned down in broad daylight driving his car with his family. Another was Helen Hill, a filmmaker and wife of a doctor, shot to death when she answered a morning knock on her door in a Bohemian neighborhood near the French Quarter. In the aftermath of such high-profile murders, citizens are ready to march on City Hall. We visit a devastated city that's under siege. Will New Orleans be safe for Mardi Gras less than six weeks from today?
Is New Orleans Safe for Anyone?
Credits
Guests:
- Baty Landis - Owner of the Sound Cafe
- Gwen Filosa - Staff writer, Times-Picayune
- Peter Scharf - Founding Director of the Center, for Society, Law and Justice
- John Raphael, Jr - Pastor of New Hope Baptist Church
- Mary Beth Romig - Director of Communications for the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau