Billy Sothern

Billy Sothern, a New Orleans anti-death penalty lawyer and a Soros
Justice Media Fellow, is a frequent contributor to The Nation and
the author of Down in New Orleans: Reflections From a Drowned
City (California).

Death Penalty May 5, 2008

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

As executions resume in the wake of a Supreme Court decision, we are reminded that a life cannot be willfully ended without violence.

Billy Sothern
Cities December 13, 2007

Waiting for Godot in a Wasteland

The most devastated neighborhood in America makes an ideal backdrop for a morally ambiguous play about abandonment.

Billy Sothern
Politics October 30, 2007

Bobby Jindal: Not Much to Celebrate

Some herald the election of an Indian-American Republican governor as a milestone, but the poor and black citizens of Louisiana aren't among them.

Billy Sothern
Cities August 29, 2007

New Orleans Is Us

If the American people continue to avert their eyes from the slow death of an abandoned city, their communities may soon be the next to fail.

Billy Sothern
Activism August 10, 2007

Goodbye, St. Thomas

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans's ruling class is demolishing public housing to make way for private businesses and expensive condos.

Billy Sothern
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Cities June 6, 2007

Jefferson Should Go

The people of New Orleans suffered another blow with the indictment of Representative William Jefferson. They deserve better.

Billy Sothern
Cities May 22, 2007

On the Porch in the Seventh Ward

As the New Orleans Jazz Fest unfolded, a down-home celebration, bright with beads, sequins and feathers, took place in the city's poorest neighborhoods.

Billy Sothern
Death Penalty April 25, 2007

A Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Billy Sothern, member of the legal team that represented Patrick Kennedy, convicted of child rape, in a landmark Supreme Court death penalty decision this week, explained the issues at stake in this 2007 essay.

Billy Sothern
Cities March 27, 2007

A Question of Blood

History repeats itself for the white residents of St. Bernard Parish, who tried and failed to restrict rentals in their devastated streets to blood relatives, barring blacks and Hispanics.

Billy Sothern
Cities March 13, 2007

In Lieu of Flowers

Mourning a slain young mother in New Orleans, the only way to dignify her death is to try to create real justice here.

Billy Sothern

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Billy Sothern

Death Penalty May 5, 2008

As executions resume in the wake of a Supreme Court decision, we are reminded that a life cannot be willfully ended without violence.

Cities December 13, 2007

The most devastated neighborhood in America makes an ideal backdrop for a morally ambiguous play about abandonment.

Politics October 30, 2007

Some herald the election of an Indian-American Republican governor as a milestone, but the poor and black citizens of Louisiana aren't among them.

Cities August 29, 2007

If the American people continue to avert their eyes from the slow death of an abandoned city, their communities may soon be the next to fail.

Activism August 10, 2007

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans's ruling class is demolishing public housing to make way for private businesses and expensive condos.

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

Cities June 6, 2007

The people of New Orleans suffered another blow with the indictment of Representative William Jefferson. They deserve better.

Cities May 22, 2007

As the New Orleans Jazz Fest unfolded, a down-home celebration, bright with beads, sequins and feathers, took place in the city's poorest neighborhoods.

Death Penalty April 25, 2007

Billy Sothern, member of the legal team that represented Patrick Kennedy, convicted of child rape, in a landmark Supreme Court death penalty decision this week, explained the issues at stake in this 2007 essay.

Cities March 27, 2007

History repeats itself for the white residents of St. Bernard Parish, who tried and failed to restrict rentals in their devastated streets to blood relatives, barring blacks and Hispanics.

Cities March 13, 2007

Mourning a slain young mother in New Orleans, the only way to dignify her death is to try to create real justice here.