Stories emerge of Katrina jail detainees

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Some New Orleans residents jailed during the confusion after Hurricane Katrina appear to have lost their due process rights, documents indicate.

Testimony from court cases is emerging in which people who were jailed in 2005 after Katrina claim they were deprived of their constitutional rights because of the disarray the deadly storm caused in the judicial system, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported Sunday.

In one case, the newspaper said, Thomas Lee White spent a year in prison after being mistakenly identified and jailed for public drunkenness. One man accused of looting his own home was jailed for seven months without a court hearing and another spent 13 months in jail without ever speaking to an attorney or judge, the newspaper reported.

The Times-Picayune cited a new book, titled "Zeitoun," by author Dave Eggers, which tells the story of painting contractor Abdulrahman Zeitoun, who was arrested on his own property and held incommunicado in jail for a month, leading his wife to believe he was dead.