An interesting piece on why we do what we do & NOLA: Billy Sothern, Louisiana Capital Assistance Center and the Capital Appeals Project, has a great piece at Salon.com called Dream Unrealized. The piece examines NOLA as a failure of the civil rights movement. The story includes this about the work of foreign lawyers, poverty law and the death penalty:

While it may be easy for American tourists to turn a blind eye to their own third world, a steady stream of young Australians and Europeans have been coming to Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and the rest of the deep South for years to serve the needs of the indigent people throughout these states. As the co-director and recruiter for Reprieve U.S., an organization that sponsors and places volunteers at poverty law offices, it is always mildly surprising and embarrassing to me to hear these bright and passionate people explain that they are applying either to work for the poor in the criminal justice system in Texas or to help build shelters in Guatemala, and are unable to determine where the needs are greater. What seems most shocking to our volunteers is the complete disregard that the U.S. government has paid our clients throughout their lives, failing to provide housing, healthcare, education and other basic needs.