He Compared a Black Child to a Dog and Withheld Evidence in Death Row Cases. Now He’s Running for Judge.

He compared a Black teen to a dog, withheld evidence in death row cases. He now wants to be a judge.

Photo by David Talukdar/Getty ImagesThis article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Verite News. Sign up for Dispatchesto get stories like this one as soon as they are published. Hugo Holland’s aggressive legal tactics made him one of Louisiana’s most renowned prosecutors and helped turn Caddo Parish, a majority Black community in the northwest corner of the state, into one of the nation’s leaders in death …

He compared a Black child to a dog and withheld evidence in death row cases. Now he’s running for judge in Louisiana.

He Compared a Black Child to a Dog and Withheld Evidence in Death Row Cases. Now He’s Running for Judge.

Holland, who once compared a Black child to a dog, has had a career mired in controversy. That hasn’t stopped him from becoming the de facto frontrunner of his judicial race.