Another audit finds flaws with how Louisiana decides when to release people from prison

For years in Louisiana, a flawed state system has caused some inmates to stay behind bars beyond their release dates, a problem that has sparked lawsuits and even a federal investigation.

Now, a report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor has found that the Department of Public Safety & Corrections does not have an adequate review process to ensure changes to release dates are accurately calculated.

It’s the fourth time the auditor’s office has made such a finding, according to Barrett Hunter, the agency’s assistant director.

The corrections department disputed the findings, asserting in a response to the report that its review process is indeed adequate and noting the auditor did not find any errors in the release date calculations it reviewed.

During their incarceration, inmates’ release dates change as they earn credits for good behavior, or lose them due to disciplinary action, in which case the state must determine a new release date. Officials said supervisors provide a “second level review” of such calculations.

But the audit found there was not always evidence that such reviews were taking place. In 31 cases where an inmate’s release date changed, the audit found that 20 calculations “did not have reviewer initials or other support to indicate the change entered in the system was reviewed by someone other than the preparer.”

An inadequate review process increases the risk that inmates are held past their release dates, Hunter said.

That is a problem that has plagued the corrections department for years. In 2023, the Department of Justice found the state regularly violated the Constitution by detaining people for too long. For a period in 2022, 1 in 4 inmates were held past their release dates, federal investigators said, estimating that such errors cost the state $2.5 million a year as it paid to continue housing inmates.

State officials have known since at least 2012 that the release date calculations process was flawed. Because half of state inmates are housed in local jails, delays in transferring paperwork between agencies have contributed to that problem.

In its response to the audit, the DOC said it is deploying a statewide electronic document upload portal that will “streamline the document intake process” and allow the agency to track uploads in real time.

The agency also said it plans to launch a computer program later this year that can calculate release dates, reducing human error.

In a statement, William Most, an attorney who has fought lawsuits on behalf of clients who say they were incarcerated for too long, said overdetention takes a toll.

“Doing time in prison is hard. But it is even harder to be in prison when you know you should be free — and no one will tell you when you are going to get out,” he said.

A spokesperson for the DOC declined to comment beyond the agency’s formal response to the audit.

Hunter said the DOC has made improvements to its system, such as fixing initial release date calculation problems at inmate intake. The agency also has implemented regular reviews of release date calculations, he said.

The audit comes after Louisiana passed a sweeping set of laws this year that will lengthen prison sentences, making it more difficult to earn good time credits and all but eliminating the possibility of parole.

A report from the Crime and Justice Institute at the Community Resources for Justice, a Boston-based nonprofit, found the prison population could double due to the new laws. Louisiana already has the highest incarceration rate in the nation.