Shon Miller: Portrait of a Mass Killer as a Human Being Shon Miller: Portrait of a Mass Killer as a Human Being
The sterile, but endless, debate over the role of mental illness in mass shootings rarely acknowledges how much our system fails those on both sides of the gun.
Jun 10, 2022 / Billy Sothern
Cruel and Unusual Punishment 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.
May 5, 2008 / Billy Sothern
Waiting for Godot in a Wasteland Waiting for Godot in a Wasteland
The most devastated neighborhood in America makes an ideal backdrop for a morally ambiguous play about abandonment.
Dec 13, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Billy Sothern
Bobby Jindal: Not Much to Celebrate 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.
Oct 30, 2007 / Feature / Billy Sothern
New Orleans Is Us 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.
Aug 29, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Billy Sothern
Goodbye, St. Thomas 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.
Aug 10, 2007 / Feature / Billy Sothern
Jefferson Should Go Jefferson Should Go
The people of New Orleans suffered another blow with the indictment of Representative William Jefferson. They deserve better.
Jun 6, 2007 / Feature / Billy Sothern
On the Porch in the Seventh Ward 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.
May 22, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Billy Sothern
A Cruel and Unusual Punishment 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 iss...
Apr 25, 2007 / Feature / Billy Sothern
A Question of Blood 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 Hi...
Mar 27, 2007 / Feature / Billy Sothern