Handguns remain the leading murder weapon with a rate of 44.7% with firearm (type unknown) following close behind at 35.7%.
[1] Louisiana experienced a higher murder and non-negligent manslaughter rate (14.5 per 100,000) than any other U.S. state in 2023 for the 35th straight year (1989–2023), according to The 2023 FBI Uniform Crime Report.
New Orleans had the highest murder rate of any major American city in 2008 (42.1 per 100,000 people) 2001 (44.0 per 100,000) 2002 (53.1 per 100,000) 2003 (57.7 per 100,000) 2004 (56.0 per 100,000) 2006 (70 per 100,000) 2007 (81 per 100,000) 2008 (63.6 per 100,000) 2009 (52 per 100,000) 2010 (51 per 100,000) and 2011 {57.6 per 100,000} as well.
The murder rate in Baton Rouge for 2011 was the 8th highest in the nation among large cities at 27.6 per 100,000.
[12] The first recorded execution in Louisiana occurred on September 24, 1722, when an unnamed man was hanged for theft.
[13] The most recent execution took place on January 7, 2010, when Gerald J. Bordelon was put to death for the murder of his stepdaughter, Courtney Leblanc.
[14] On June 29, 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Furman v. Georgia, which halted capital punishment in the United States.
Prior to this moratorium, however, Louisiana had not carried out an execution since Jesse James Ferguson was put to death in 1961.
[15] Capital punishment was reinstated in Louisiana in 1976 following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gregg v. Georgia.
The first execution to occur in the state following the lifting of the moratorium was on December 14, 1983, when Robert Wayne Williams was electrocuted.
This marked a 14.8% drop in the aggravated assault rate from 2011; the largest decrease of all crimes.
With 193 homicides, New Orleans had the highest total number of murders for any city in Louisiana.
Handguns remain the leading murder weapon with a rate of 44.7% with firearm (type unknown) following close behind at 35.7%.