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This New Orleans ‘genius’ is on a quest to learn more about rising deaths in prisons | PBS NewsHour

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She has not been convicted of a crime; for years, the Loyola University of New Orleans law school professor has visited prisons and jails to document the deaths of incarcerated people and draw attention to the dehumanizing conditions of confinement. As a result of that work, Armstrong has become a leading expert whose research sheds light on the harmful conditions people behind bars face in the United States. In October, she was named to the 2023 class of MacArthur fellows, often known as recipients of the prestigious “genius grants.” WATCH: Incarcerated people face heightened costs to communicate with families As a young girl, Armstrong went to public school in New Orleans, a city with heavy policing and a high arrest rate. At the Louisiana State Penitentiary, better known as Angola, the nation’s largest maximum-security prison, she has witnessed and documented abuse of people serving time. A former slave plantation, the 18,000-acre site holds more than 6,300 incarcerated people. But

NEW ORLEANS — Andrea Armstrong has spent countless hours at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. She has not been convicted of a crime; for years, the Loyola University of New Orleans law school professor has visited prisons and jails to document the deaths of incarcerated people and draw attention to the dehumanizing conditions of confinement. As a result of that work, Armstrong has become a leading expert whose research sheds light on the harmful conditions people behind bars face in the United States. In October, she was named to the 2023 class of MacArthur fellows, often known as…

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