NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Felony conviction rates have begun to improve under Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, but still lag behind those of his predecessor Leon Cannizzaro, the independent watchdog Metropolitan Crime Commission reported Wednesday (Dec. 10).
The MCC’s new report examined felony arrest outcomes in New Orleans from 2022-24, the first three post-COVID years under Williams, who took office in January 2021. Williams, a former defense attorney and New Orleans City Council member, was elected as the parish’s top prosecutor after Cannizzaro decided not to seek a third term in 2020.
The office’s felony conviction rate was 44 percent in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year under Cannizzaro…