Felony Justice
Greater than 1 / 4 of Louisiana prisoners have been held previous their launch dates since 2012, DOJ says
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There’s affordable trigger to suppose that Louisiana is violating the constitutional rights of imprisoned folks by preserving them in custody previous their launch dates, the U.S. Division of Justice has concluded.
The DOJ notified Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards of its findings in a Jan. 25 letter, in response to a DOJ press release, the New York Times, Reuters and ABC News.
Since 2012, greater than 1 / 4 of the folks in Louisiana’s custody have been held previous their launch dates every year, the division mentioned in a report. Between the months of January and April 2022, almost 27% of prisoners have been held previous their launch dates—31% of them have been held over for a minimum of 60 days, and 24% have been held over for a minimum of 90 days.
“At that price, this unconstitutional apply prices Louisiana over $2.5 million a yr,” the report mentioned.
Louisiana has been on discover of the issue for greater than 10 years however did not appropriate it, the DOJ mentioned.
The DOJ mentioned the issue was attributable to “systemic deficiencies” in procedures by the Louisiana Division of Public Security and Corrections. The deficiencies relate to the receipt of sentencing paperwork, the calculation of launch dates and worker coaching.
The DOJ performed the investigation below the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Individuals Act. The DOJ advised Edwards that it hoped to resolve the matter by way of “a extra cooperative strategy,” but it surely had the choice of submitting a lawsuit to appropriate the alleged deficiencies.
