AVOYELLES PARISH, La. (KALB) – The Louisiana State Police Troop E reported that two people were killed in Avoyelles Parish after a crash on July 4.

Troopers responded to the two-vehicle crash on Hwy 29 near Overby Road at around 1:30 am.

The incident reportedly killed Shepherd Roy Jr., 63, of Bunkie and Robert Johnson, 75, of Breaux Bridge.

Investigators stated that, for reasons not yet determined, a vehicle driven by Roy crossed into the oncoming lane on Hwy 29 and collided head-on with a vehicle driven by Johnson. Neither were wearing seatbelts and both men were pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigator reportedly suspect that impairment was a factor in the crash. Routine toxicology samples were collected for analysis.

This is an ongoing investigation.

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A father-son duo is taking their patriotism to the next level this Independence Day by adorning their Louisiana home with a 50-foot, 60-pound American flag.

John Beard says the massive Old Glory, a gift from a Marine veteran who served four tours in Iraq, pays homage to all America has done for his household.

“We don’t have a huge flag pole [to] put it on, so we decided, in order to show our patriotism, this is how we were going to do it. We put it on the house,” he told “Fox & Friends First” Wednesday.

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The task wasn’t easy, according to John, who took special care not to damage the flag in the process.

“Ladder, rope and tackle and getting it up there and laying it across and then unfolding it and putting it up there and tacking it down, trying to be as respectful as possible to the flag,” he told a local outlet about the effort.

John’s son Jayden told Fox News that his friends in the neighborhood also came over to help.

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Jayden Beard (left) and his father John Beard (right) (Fox & Friends First/Screengrab)

“They were all for it,” he noted.

“I very much [love my country], and I agree with my father’s choice, what he’s doing of covering the house,” he added. “The flag really represents my freedom, everyone’s freedom of speech of being able to hang this flag without any repercussions.”

Feedback among neighbors has been generally positive, but there has been some “pushback” online, according to John.

“We just kind of think if we’re upsetting the liberals, then you must be doing something right,” he quipped.

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Inmates harvest turnips at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Jackson issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday giving the state department of corrections seven days to provide a plan to improve conditions on the so-called Farm Line at Louisiana State Penitentiary, otherwise known as Angola. Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Amid blistering summer temperatures, a federal judge ordered Louisiana to take steps to protect the health and safety of incarcerated workers toiling in the fields of a former slave plantation, saying they face “substantial risk of injury or death.” The state immediately appealed the decision.

U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday, giving the state department of corrections seven days to provide a plan to improve conditions on the so-called Farm Line at Louisiana State Penitentiary, otherwise known as Angola. The expansive penitentiary occupies land that once was a plantation.

Jackson called on the state to make changes to policies dealing with heat. He pointed to everything from inadequate shade and breaks from work and a failure to provide workers with sunscreen and other basic protections, including medical checks for those especially vulnerable to high temperatures. However, the judge stopped short of shutting down the farm line altogether when heat indexes reach 88 degrees Fahrenheitor higher, which was what the plaintiffs had requested.

The order comes amid growing nationwide attention on prison labor, a practice that is firmly rooted in slavery and has evolved over the decades into a multibillion-dollar industry. A two-year Associated Press investigation linked the supply chains of some of the world’s largest and best-known companies – from Cargill and Walmart to Burger King – to Angola and other prison farms, where incarcerated workers are paid pennies an hour or nothing at all.

Last year several men incarcerated at Angola and the advocacy group Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) filed a class-action lawsuit alleging cruel and unusual punishment and forced labor in the prison’s fields. The men, most of whom are Black, said they use hoes and shovels or stoop to pick crops by hand in dangerously hot temperatures as armed guards look on. If they refuse to work or fail to meet quotas, they can be sent to solitary confinement or face other punishment, according to disciplinary guidelines.

As temperatures across the state continue to rise, “dealing with the heat in Louisiana has become a matter of life and death,” Jackson wrote in his 78-page ruling. “Conditions on the Farm Line ‘create a substantial risk of injury or death.’”

Lydia Wright of The Promise of Justice Initiative, an attorney for the plaintiffs, applauded the decision.

“The farm line has caused physical and psychological harm for generations,” she told the AP, adding it is the first time a court has found the practice to be cruel and unusual punishment. “It’s an incredible moment for incarcerated people and their families.”

Ken Pastorick, a spokesman for Louisiana’s Department of Public Safety and Corrections, said the department “strongly disagrees” with the court’s overall ruling and has filed a notice of appeal with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“We are still reviewing the ruling in its entirety and reserve the right to comment in more detail at a later time,” he said.

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