Decades before she became known as “Mama Glo” at Louisiana’s women’s prison for her mentorship of young and often wayward inmates, Gloria Williams escaped from her lifelong incarceration three times, and attempted at least once more.  But now, for the first time after almost 50…

Spotlights like this one provide original commentary and analysis on pressing criminal justice issues of the day. You can read them each day in our newsletter, The Daily Appeal. This week, The Advocate reported on the case of Gloria Williams, also known as Mama Glo, and her win…

Gloria Williams was in her 20s when she was sent to prison for her part in a robbery that turned deadly. After serving nearly five decades, including one decade in solitary confinement, Williams now has a chance at freedom. Gloria Williams turns 74 this month….

LOUISIANA’S LONGEST-SERVING INCARCERATED WOMAN, RECOMMENDED FOR CLEMENCY LAST JULY, HOSPITALIZED WITH COVID-19 Governor John Bel Edwards has yet to commute Gloria Williams’s sentence despite a parole board’s unanimous recommendation that she be freed. Now she is in critical condition at a Baton Rouge hospital. After…

Louisiana’s longest-serving incarcerated woman is supposed to be free. Instead, she has Covid-19. Louisiana’s longest-serving incarcerated woman is supposed to be free. Instead, she has Covid-19. Gloria Williams’s approved clemency application has been waiting for the governor’s signature for nine months. Gloria Williams has been…