Newell: DA Jason Williams is in the best position to effect change in the criminal justice system

On his Thursday show, WWL’s Newell Normand was once again offering a barbed critique of the Orleans Parish juvenile justice system.

This time though, it was in the wake of Tommy Tucker’s interview that morning with District Attorney Jason Williams, who Normand believes is positioned well to impact the system for the better.

“There was a statement that D.A. Jason Williams made that’s compelling about what is lacking,” Normand said. “He said the judges should want to know. They should want to know everything, as much as they can get their hands on because they are, especially in the juvenile system, the fine line between safety or not, plain and simple. You got to want to know.
You got to. You got to care. You got to give a damn.”

Normand said a brighter light needs to be shined on the system itself.

“There's a void relative to communication and transparency, and the ability to educate the public as to what is actually going on,” Normand said. “I don't know about you, but I’m sick and I’m tired that the only time that this gets attention is when there is a horrific case that presents itself, where we talk about it for weeks on end, and then we go right back into the shadows.”

You can hear the full clip by clicking the link above.