re: Why does New Orleans have more murders than similar cities?

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Between 1857 and 1859, New Orleans had an average annual murder rate of 35 killings per 100,000, much higher than the annual homicide rate of 3.6 per 100,000 in Philadelphia and 7.5 in Boston. Only 21 percent of all New Orleans murders resulted in a conviction because witnesses were afraid to come forward and people were too scared to serve on juries, Rousey wrote.

When Russell visited New Orleans in 1861, he "remarked on the unusually high occurrence of lethal violence and the penchant of citizens for carrying weapons," Rousey wrote. "In his view, New Orleans was one of the most violent cities in the United States at that time."

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