Ethan Brown > Quotes

“The president can say we’re a country at war all he wants. We’re not. The military is at war. And the military families are at war. Everybody else is shopping….”
― Ethan Brown, Shake the Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder that Rocked New Orleans

“Under a Louisiana drug-forfeiture law, citizens who had their assets seized - and were uncharged - bore the burden of both proving their innocence and having to pay the highest bond in the nation (10 percent of the value of the property or $2500, whichever was greater) to sue for their return. Perversely, the 1989 law insured that forfeited assets were distributed in a manner that invited corruption. Sixty percent of the proceeds went to the law enforcement agency that seized the property, 20 percent to the district attorney, and 20 percent to a state judges' judicial-expense fund.”
― Ethan Brown, Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?

“Each of the victims was deeply mired in poverty, mental illness, and drug addiction - afflictions so prevalent that drugs "account for eighty to eighty-five percent of our cases," according to the long-serving parish DA, Michael Cassidy. Given the pervasiveness of addiction, one would think that treatment would be readily available. Not so, according to Cassidy: "We certainly don't have any inpatient treatment here," he admitted.”
― Ethan Brown, Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?

“[He] was involved in trafficking and distributing drugs and many, if not all, of his law enforcement associates moved from Calcasieu Parish to Jeff Davis Parish, where they conveniently slipped into positions of power.”
― Ethan Brown, Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?

“Incredibly, however, he admitted to Taskforce investigators that his associate... had purchased embalming fluid - a mixture of formaldehyde, methanol, and other solvents - from a nearby funeral home. [He] admitted to Taskforce investigators, in a jaw-droppingly incriminating remark, "Somebody's using some chemicals" on the eight victims.”
― Ethan Brown, Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?