Days after Mayor LaToya Cantrell sat with a juvenile carjacking convict and his family during sentencing, we're hearing from the victims.
Today, those victims told WWL's Tommy Tucker that they want Mayor Cantrell to change how she handles crime in New Orleans and how she interacts with the victims of crime.
"Where are you in this?" asked Stephanie, one of the victims of a teenaged carjacker whose sentencing Mayor Cantrell attended. "Where do you stand in this? Where is your remorse because even after all of this media coverage has happened and you've been put in the limelight, you still haven't reached out."
Stephanie says she returned to New Orleans after Katrina because she was invested in the city.
However, she says her brush with crime forced her to move. She also says she now takes extra precautions before driving into New Orleans.
"I've relocated my entire life," Stephanie says. "I have moved to Jefferson Parish."
Now, when Stephanie comes into the city, she says she takes extra precautions, including dressing in colors that allow her to blend into crowds, avoiding wearing expensive jewelry, keeping her purse wrapped around her body, and carrying her keys and her pepper spray in her pockets.
"It feels like I'm driving into a war zone," Stephanie said of returning to New Orleans.
Another victim, Madison, says Mayor Cantrell's actions speak volumes about the mayor's stance on crime.
"What she did was a big mistake," Madison said of the mayor's appearance in court. "It messes up a lot of people's outlook on how they feel about carjackings and how they feel about possibly attending these trials after they've been carjacked when they hear about this."
Madison says all of this could have been avoided if the mayor had contacted the victims beforehand. She also says she hopes the mayor is taking notes of the response to her courtroom cameo.
"I hope that she learns from this and can either (a) stop going to these trials if this is the way she's going to do it or (b) be more present for these victims."
Stephanie, though, doesn't have much hope.
"I have seen the mayor's role in this," Stephanie said. "I had to relocate because it's not safe any more. If she's on the side of crime, what does that mean for the next three years?"
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