LIVING AND DYING IN LOUISIANA!

Monday, March 24th, 2025

 Baton Rouge, Louisiana

LIVING AND DYING IN LOUISIANA!

 It’s been a number of years since the death penalty was carried out in Louisiana. A vicious rapist and killer, a fellow named Jesse Hoffman, was put to death at Angola State prison just two weeks ago. I can look back 21 years ago, as I witnessed the highs and lows of life and death here in the Bayou State.

It was a cool Tuesday evening, and I was leaving a reception for former congressman Billy Tauzin at the Old State capital in downtown Baton Rouge. Billy and I had fought many battles together when we both served in the Louisiana legislature back in the 1970s. He had fought and won a separate confrontation with cancer, and a number of Billy’s friends turned out to celebrate a full life he had led.

I headed to my parked car about a block away across the street from the East Baton Rouge Courthouse.  It was 8 o’clock in the evening, and as I approach my car, I could see numerous television lights and a large crowd on the front steps of the courthouse.

“What’s going on?” I ask one of the reporters I knew. “The jury’s still deliberating whether Derrick Todd Lee lives or dies,” he told me. “Will they come up with the verdict tonight?” I asked. “It’s getting late.” He nodded and said: “That’s what we hear. They’re supposed to push on till they make a decision. They’ll want to go home,” he answered.

I walked into the courthouse and took the elevator up to the sixth floor to the courtroom of the presiding judge, Richard Anderson. Sheriff’s deputies were everywhere and security was tight. I went through the metal detector and walked into a packed court room.

Col. Greg Phares was in charge of the numerous deputies surrounding the walls in the court room. Angola prison warden Burl Cain and I talked for a while. “Whatever happens, I’ve got a full night ahead of me. He will go to Angola tonight for the rest of his life, however long that is,” the warden mused.

About then, the bailiff quieted the court room and the jury filed in. The process was short. A signed verdict sent to the clerk, who read out the decision.  Derrick Todd Lee should be put to death. Then tears and sobs from the victims’ families, from Lee’s relatives, even the district attorney’s wife wiped away a few tears now that the ordeal was over.

So, should Derrick Todd Lee die? There was an overwhelming community feeling that, yes, he should. The guy is charged with killing seven women. And there may be more. If you were looking for the right poster face for the death penalty, you can’t do better than Lee.

Putting aside the arguments for opposing the taking of anyone’s life, what possible reason would there be not to execute him? One is money. It costs on average 4 to 5 times more to invoke capital punishment than it does to put him away for life. The costs of appeal, including attorney’s fees that are almost always paid for the state, often run several million dollars. It’s much cheaper to stick him in a cell and spend a few dollars a day to feed him.

And you can make a pretty good argument that if you want to put someone through hell, stick them in a maximum-security prison where he will either be brutalized by the prison population, or confined in solitary where he lives almost like an animal in total boredom. Some would argue this punishment is worse than the death penalty.

But we demand an eye for an eye. Oh, it may take a decade or more. But the odds are, one day Lee will die. John McKeithen, Edwin Edwards and Buddy Roemer each told me the toughest decision they ever faced as governor was whether to let a condemned man die. It was the first decision Roemer had to make the day he was sworn in. But they always let it happen.

Two different people that night at two different events. One a celebration of a full and continuing life. The other, just a block away, a decision to take away a life.

The challenge, of course, is to live a life of dignity. To see your own existence as a heightened example of universal experience a life that is fulfilling in a way that is somehow larger-than-life. On that night twenty-one years ago, I was a witness †o the obvious.  That one had succeeded and one failed.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownla.com. 

 

THE CASE FOR A NEW LOUISIANA CONSTITUTION!

Monday, March 17^th, 2025

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

THE CASE FOR A NEW LOUISIANA CONSTITUTION!

 

Here we go again. Voters will soon be asked to consider changing the state constitution. Every time Louisiana has an election, it seems like  there is an effort to change what is one of the longest constitutions of any state in the country.  

 

The Governor is hollering that the financial sky is falling and the state is in dire fiscal straights. Legislators protest that their hands are tied by too many constitutional dedications. And since there is little appetite for trimming the budget, the legislature now begins its regular gathering at the state capitol with a major shortfall. 

 

After years of allowing state dollars to be dedicated and ignoring constitutional limitations on spending, there are finally murmurs in the halls of the capitol that it just may be time for a constitutional convention to unlock so many dedicated funds.  Since the current constitution was adopted back in 1974, it has been amended 186 times, often to dedicate tax dollars for a specific purpose. This means fewer dollars for the legislature to appropriate for current and changing needs.

 

To put into perspective as to just how often the present document has been amended, the United States Constitution, which has been around for 231 years, has been altered only 27 times. One might argue that the legislature really isn’t all that necessary with so many constitutional amendments, approved by the voters, which require how the annual state budget is to be spent.

 

Currently, almost $2.5 billion has been constitutionally dedicated in 40 different funds. Programs that have such protected revenue include a Transportation Trust Fund that receives $1.2 billion of revenue for road construction, the TOPS scholarship program, and the minimum foundation program to fund public education.  All these programs are noble and necessary to improve Louisiana’s quality of life. The question is whether or not the legislature in Louisiana should be able to set spending priorities to adjust for changing needs. Right now, lawmakers are, for all practical purposes, impotent to adapt as other financial concerns arise.

 

This lack of any fiscal flexibility was not always the rule. The original 1974 constitution gave specific instructions as to how state funds were to be disbursed. Spending was set out in Article VII, stating: “except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, money shall be drawn from the state treasury only pursuant to an appropriation made in accordance with law.”

 

What this article meant was that all state funds would be put into the state treasury, and then appropriated by the legislature, who were entrusted with the duty of evaluating and setting priorities for state spending on an annual basis.  Initially few tax dollars were locked in to the constitution.

 

I have first-hand knowledge about the spending protections built into article VII of the 1974 Constitution. I was an  elected delegate, and during that time, I served as co-chairman of the revenue committee along with future Gov. Buddy Roemer. We often went to a local Pizza hangout, and debated for hours the pros and cons of giving the legislature the authority to set spending priorities.

 

We concluded that a constitution should be flexible enough to allow for changing times. A responsible legislature should have the tools to deal with current emergencies, catastrophes, new innovative programs that needed state funding, and have the ability to curtail or eliminate programs that had outlived their usefulness. What was important in 1974 maybe irrelevant in 2018.

 

Others will argue that they just cannot trust legislators to be directly responsible.  Maybe that’s a good reason not to re-elect them.  You might agree with a motto some will adhere to next year of  “in the fall, fire em’ all.”  But any private business would be on the verge of bankruptcy if it functioned as the Bayou State is being run now. A good start, by any measure, would be a new constitution.

 

Louisiana was recently named the worst state in the nation (again) by U.S. News and World Report when it comes to healthcare, education, infrastructure and other aspects of day-to-day life. Going back to square one with a new constitution could be a new demarcation line. After all, it can’t get any worse.

 

Peace and Justice

 

Jim Brown

 

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.  

 

MUST WE ALL SPEAK ENGLISH IN AMERICA?

Monday, March 10^th, 2025

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

MUST WE ALL SPEAK ENGLISH IN AMERICA?

Should America have one official language-English? The President says yes, and asserts that a single shared language “is the core of a unified, cohesive society that serves to streamline communication and empowers new citizens to achieve the American dream.” Who could argue with  those goals? 

There are many, particularly in Washington, who would contend that America is one big melting pot. “We came to America to be Americans.” They would argue. Nothing wrong here. It all comes down to how they would define “American.” Remember that when our forefathers came to America, they did not assimilate or adopt the native Indian language. Actually, there was a good bit of “ethnic cleansing” going on back in those early days.

Louisiana is a state that is about as culturally diverse as you can get. Bayou country has a long history as a domestic mix of rednecks, Cajuns, Creoles, Latinos, African Americans, Italians, and Irishmen, just to name the larger ethnic groups. They don’t party at all hours of the night down in New Orleans in the “American Quarter.”

Now I know it’s the political rage throughout the country to demand that English should be the official language.  And quite frankly, I agree.  That is, from the public perspective.  I occasionally get a bit irritated when I’m told to “press one for English, two for Spanish”  If a U.S. governmental body insists on printing forms, giving tests, and processing governmental applications just in English, then that is how the process works.  It would be an unjust burden to expect the federal government to print documents in every language requested.

But here’s where states’ rights come in. If any state feels the need to offer services in another language, that should be its prerogative. In some areas of my home state of Louisiana, French is the only language spoken by older Cajuns. Grocery stores in some small south Louisiana communities post daily specials in French, and the southern part of the state has a number of radio stations that carry French Cajun music.

Recently, The New York Times profiled Mamou radio station KVPI that broadcasts to a large listening audience in French. The popular morning show begins early and is called “La Tasse de Cafe. “Certainly the President would not want to interfere with this morning ritual that so many of his constituents enjoy.

In the southeast corner of the state, a number of publications appear in Vietnamese to service the growing Asian community of immigrating fisherman. When I served as the state’s chief elections officer back in  the 1980s, Louisiana election ballot information was printed not only in English, but also in Spanish and Vietnamese. It still is today.

The recent census found that over 380,000 Louisianans speak another language besides English. This number, just to name a few, includes French (194,314), Spanish (108,189), Vietnamese (23,326), German (8,047), Chinese (5,732), Arabic (5,489), Italian (3,730), Tagalog (Philipino-3,335), Korean (2,402), and African Languages (2,2278).

But what about “Speak English or Get Out” as some of our politicians in Washington are advocating?  Look, I’ll stay out of your face and you stay out of mine.  Don’t tell me what language I can or cannot speak. I don’t need some government official telling me what to do.  If I want to go around speaking any foreign language, that’s my right as an American. I will not voluntarily stand by and let some politician or Big Brother set the parameters as to how I can or cannot communicate.  When you tell me what language to speak, then you start down the path of telling me where I can speak, what I can speak, or whether I can even speak at all.

So to all my friends, redneck like me or otherwise, pick and choose your fights wisely. The real problem is the overspending, money wasting, high taxing, and freedom-limiting bureaucrats in Washington and in our state capitols that lack the courage to set this country in the right direction with a little common sense.  You up there! Take care of the economic chaos you have created.  And for goodness sake, leave Boudreaux, Jinjing, Abdul, Jamarcus, Bubba, poor Pedro, and me alone.

And don’t forget what my old friend Homer Simpson says: “English?  Who needs that?  I’m never going to England!”

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

 

 

SO CALL IT THE GULF OF WHAT?

March 3rd, 2025
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

SO CALL IT THE GULF OF WHAT?

Our new president has stirred up a hornet's nest by declaring that we no longer have a Gulf of Mexico. From now on, all government references will be to a Gulf of America. I grew up along the gulf coast, spending just about every summer there that I can remember. From Gulf Shores, Alabama to Perdido Key Florida. Passing away more hours than I can remember water skiing, fishing and, as Jimmy Buffett would sing, “wasting away” days on my used Sea-Doo sports boat. I drove that boat for 40 years until it landed in a treetop blown away by hurricane Katrina. And when I went to the coast, often for many weekends in a row, we didn’t say we were going to the Gulf of Mexico. Just to the Gulf. No one thought of dismissing Mexico’s name until Trump came along.

So then I got the thinking. The name of Mexico is not relevant to our part of this vast body of water. So maybe the President is right. A name change might be in order. But why America? The Gulf Coast is unique to our part of the nation. The fishing, the beaches, the oil and gas production the boating with vessels, big and small, the uniqueness of the location of the Mississippi river, all this combined reflexes a way of life that cannot be found anywhere else in America. And the center of these many economic and recreational qualities is found in Louisiana.

Let's start with fishing. Many diehard sports fisherman claim that Venice, Louisiana, at the bottom tip of the Mississippi river, is the sports fishing capitol of the world when it comes to catching giant tuna, marlin, wahoo, mahi-mahi and other prized offshore fish species. I've traveled the world, and no fish is more tasty than the Bayou state’s red fish, black drum, speckled trout or flounder. Come to the Louisiana shoreline to find oysters, shrimp, and crawfish. How can there be any better place on earth as concentrated for delicious seafood?

How about the cruise lines than regularly travel in and out of New Orleans? Yes, there are cruise lines to other ports along the Gulf Coast. But where would you like to start an end your trip? Can any other port beat New Orleans?

Oil and gas is produced along the Gulf Coast. And within its state boundaries, the largest producer is the state of Texas. But when it comes to drilling offshore, Louisiana dominates production within several hundred miles of our coastline. Some of the largest drilling platforms that can be found anywhere in the world can be found off the Louisiana coast.

So just what am I suggesting here? Mexico is not relevant to our part of the coastline. And the recreational and economic engine that produces jobs, huge income for the entire country, and vast recreational activities are heavily concentrated in Louisiana. America receives bountiful benefits. So to keep it in the family, if the name of the gulf is going to be changed, what better way to honor that part of the country that gives so much back, here's what we should do. Call it the Gulf of Louisiana.

The President's suggested name change has significant opposition. For example, just last week, the Jefferson Parish Council strongly opposed a resolution to require all maps to change the gulf’s name from Mexico to America. And even though the council is overwhelmingly republican, the resolution failed on a 6 to 1 vote. “Keep national partisan politics of the council”, said local members.

So since many feel that the name change will be looked on as part of the Mega agenda, the nation needs an alternative. No recognition of Mexico, yet acknowledging that the nation receives plentiful benefits from a certain part of our country. And where is that? It’s the coast that boarders the deepest of the deep southern states, the coast that borders Cajun and redneck county, the state that dead centers the Gulf Coast. It’s the Gulf of Louisiana. That’s what we should call it. So what do you think about that? Am I on to something?

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.