After all, which political party holds the reins of power in the area?

A report released yesterday describes Orleans Parish prisoners trapped in flooded cells, deprived of food and water for days, and calls the scene at the jail ``some of the worst horrors of Hurricane Katrina."

The American Civil Liberties Union compiled the report through interviews with prisoners, Orleans Parish Prison deputies and staff and through legal and public documents.

``Prisoners went days without food, water, and ventilation, and deputies admit that they received no emergency training and were entirely unaware of any evacuation plan," the ACLU report said. ``Even some prison guards were left locked in at their posts to fend for themselves, unable to provide assistance to prisoners in need."

Other deputies abandoned prisoners in locked cells, where some were standing in sewage-tainted water up to their chests, according to the report.
Tom Jawetz, litigation fellow for the ACLU's National Prison Project, said the sheriff's office was ``completely unprepared for the storm."

Interestingly enough, the ACLU neglected to note that abiding by the law would have spared all of these victims from the horrors they suffered.

There is also this small note.

``The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals did more for its 263 stray pets than the sheriff did for the more than 6,500 men, women, and children left in his care," Jawetz said.

Might I suggest that the 263 stray pets are of more value to our society than those criminals who have shown themselves unable to conform to the basic norms of society?