Louisiana

Louisiana prisons routinely hold inmates past their release date, Justice Department argues

Published

1 year ago

December 23, 2024

Louisiana prisons routinely hold inmates past their release date, Justice Department argues

Louisiana’s prison system routinely holds inmates for weeks or months after they were supposed to be released from custody following the completion of their sentences, the U.S. Justice Department said in a lawsuit filed Friday.

The lawsuit against the state comes after a multi-year investigation into a pattern of “systemic overdetention” that violates inmates’ rights and costs taxpayers millions of dollars per year.

Since at least 2012, more than a quarter of the inmates scheduled to be released from Louisiana prisons have been held past their release dates, according to the DOJ.

LOUISIANA LAWMAKERS WEIGHING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT WOULD SEND MORE JUVENILE OFFENDERS TO ADULT JAILS

Louisiana’s prisons often hold inmates long after they were supposed to be released following the completion of their sentences, the DOJ says. (AP)

The Justice Department warned Louisiana officials last year that it may file a lawsuit against the state if it failed to fix the problems. Lawyers for the department argue that the state made “marginal efforts” to address the issues, noting that such attempts at a fix were “inadequate” and showed a “deliberate indifference” to the constitutional rights of inmates.

“[T]he right to individual liberty includes the right to be released from incarceration on time after the term set by the court has ended,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement.

“To incarcerate people indefinitely … not only intrudes on individual liberty, but also erodes public confidence in the fair and just application of our laws,” the statement added.

More than a quarter of the inmates scheduled to be released from Louisiana prisons since at least 2012 have been held past their release dates, the Department of Justice said. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and state Attorney General Liz Murrill, both Republicans, attributed the problem to the “failed criminal justice reforms” pushed by “the past administration.”

“This past year, we have taken significant action to keep Louisianans safe and ensure those who commit the crime, also do the time,” Landry and Murrill said in a joint statement to The Associated Press. “The State of Louisiana is committed to preserving the constitutional rights of Louisiana citizens.”

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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks at CPAC Texas 2022 conference at Hilton Anatole. (Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The two state officials also purported that the lawsuit is a last-ditch effort by President Biden, who leaves office next month, arguing that President-elect Trump’s incoming administration would not have pursued the case.

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Advocates have repeatedly challenged the conditions in Louisiana’s prison system, which includes Angola, the largest maximum-security prison in the nation, where inmates pick vegetables by hand on an 18,000-acre lot. The site was once the Angola Plantations, a slave plantation owned by Isaac Franklin and named after Angola, the country of origin for many of the enslaved people who worked there.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Louisiana

Louisiana House passes bill to fine parents for children’s school threats

Published

8 hours ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Louisiana House passes bill to fine parents for children’s school threats

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The Louisiana House passed a bill that would hold parents financially responsible when their children threaten schools.

House Bill 137 would allow courts to fine parents up to $5,000 if a child under 14 is convicted of making a school threat. The bill now heads to the Senate.

The convicted children could also face a mental health exam, up to a year of probation or six months in juvenile detention, and mandatory counseling in a back on track youth program.

Supporters say the measure will deter threats, while critics call it a dangerous precedent.

The proposal is making its way through the legislature as part of the 2026 Regular Legislative Session, which must adjourn no later than 6 p.m. on Monday, June 1.

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Louisiana

Louisiana could get rid of inspection stickers — in most places. Is your parish on the list?

Published

21 hours ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Louisiana could get rid of inspection stickers — in most places. Is your parish on the list?

Drivers in most of Louisiana would no longer need to get inspection stickers under a bill advancing in the Legislature with Gov. Jeff Landry’s support.

Instead, personal vehicles would just need a sticker that lists its vehicle identification number.

Drivers in some parts of the state, however, would still have to get inspections.

New Orleans, Kenner and Westwego have their own rules requiring the stickers — which locals famously call “brake tags” — and those would “still be allowed to continue as they are,” Office of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Keith Neal said.

And, emissions testing would still be required for drivers in several Baton Rouge-area parishes because of a federal air quality order under the Clean Air Act. Those parishes are Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Livingston and West Baton Rouge.

Commercial vehicles and school buses would still be required to do regular safety inspections.

House Bill 838, sponsored by Rep. Larry Bagley, R-Stonewall, would set a $6 annual cost for the new VIN sticker, and the fee would be assessed and collected by the Office of Motor Vehicles during registrations and registration renewals.

For example, someone who renews a vehicle registration every two years would pay $12 and someone who renews every four years would pay $24.

“The good thing about it is you won’t have to go get a sticker,” Bagley told members of the House transportation committee. “It’ll simplify many things.”

For most parishes, inspection stickers would no longer be required effective January 1. Starting June 30 this year, law enforcement would be prohibited from issuing citations for not having an inspection sticker.

In the five-parish capital region that’s subject to federal emissions testing requirements, the law would take effect once the Environmental Protection Agency approves the change.

The House transportation committee approved the bill Monday without objection.

Valerie Brolin, a spokesperson for the City of Kenner, said Mayor Michael Glaser would consider whether Kenner should end its brake tag program if HB838 becomes law. “Kenner’s not going to independently do it on its own,” she said.

What the new stickers would do

The new stickers would contain a QR code that, when scanned, lists the VIN.

“The only thing that’ll be in that QR code is the VIN,” Evelina Broussard, chief information officer for the state’s Office of Technology Service, told lawmakers on Monday.

Bagley in an interview said having the 17-digit VIN accessible to law enforcement through a QR code allows them to more easily enter it into the systems they use for ticketing or other searches, rather than enter it manually.

Landry called for eliminating inspection stickers in his “State of the State” speech to open the legislative session earlier this month.

“It’s time to eliminate the inspection sticker and stop this major inconvenience for Louisiana drivers!” Landry posted on X Monday after the bill passed out of committee.

Landry previously said the state may eventually use the sticker to display insurance coverage information.

Asked about the plan to display insurance information, Bagley said it is not currently part of the legislation, though it “possibly could” be in the future.

Bagley, who has served as a state representative for 11 years, said he’s been trying to pass the legislation since his second year at the Capitol.

Landry’s support of the measure is what’s made the difference this year, he said.

“He’s saying he’s going to change Louisiana for the better, we’re going to see a lot of changes,” Bagley said of Landry. “This is one of them.”

Bagley said so far this year there’s been no opposition to his bill.

“Why would you want to fight a first-term governor that’s popular when you know there’s probably not much you can do,” he said.

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Louisiana

Entergy Louisiana’s claim customers will save thanks to Meta deal greeted with some skepticism

Published

1 day ago

March 30, 2026

Press Room

Entergy Louisiana’s claim customers will save thanks to Meta deal greeted with some skepticism

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Meta is building a multi-billion dollar data center in northeast Louisiana and Entergy Louisiana is a huge part of the project’s equation.

“We did reach agreement with Meta to expand or have a new agreement, actually, for the data center at their Richland Parish site,” Phillip May, CEO of Entergy Louisiana told Fox 8 on Monday (March 30).

“This new agreement will require us to build seven new generators. Each of those generators will be about 750 megawatts each. So, about 5,200 megawatts of new, efficient, modern gas-fired generation.”

May pointed to other benefits.

“That generation will come with hydrogen capability and carbon-capture availability as well, as well as additional 2,500 megawatts of solar, three separate battery projects, and up rates on our nuclear plant,” May said.

May said the agreement with Meta ultimately will benefit Entergy Louisiana customers by $2 billion.

“This thing is structured to save our customers over $2 billion, over the life of the 20-year contract,” he said. “And Meta is fully paying for the cost associated with these assets over that 20-year period.”

He was asked how what Entergy plans to generate for Meta, in terms of megawatts, compares to what it is generating now for other customers.

“This amount of generation is about 50% more than is currently deployed by Entergy Louisiana,” May said.

But the deal concerns the utility watchdog Alliance for Affordable Energy.

“We haven’t had nearly enough time to review this most recent application, which, by the way, has a lot of redactions. So there’s an awful lot of information that the public, and certainly we, have not seen yet to really be able to analyze and say, indeed, all of these savings are going to come to fruition,” said Logan Burke, executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy.

The group is concerned about what could happen in years to come.

“The way regulation works in the state of Louisiana is, once this infrastructure is approved to be built, is deemed prudent and in the public interest, it means that utilities will be able to recover those costs from whatever customers they have going forward. And if, in fact, Meta winds up no longer being a customer after 15 or 20 years, that’s billions of dollars in costs that ratepayers will be on the hook for,” Burke said.

Fox 8 asked May if Entergy Louisiana customers could end up paying more down the line as a result of the agreement.

“No. In fact, the opposite is true,” May said. “Our Entergy customers will see lower rates than what they otherwise would have been.”

The deal still needs approval from the Louisiana Public Service Commission.

“Well, the next thing that has to happen is a proper investigation,” Burke said. “The proceeding in which Entergy is filed for approval from the commission is underway now. It means that organizations like the Alliance and like the Public Service Commission have a responsibility to look at these books, to look at these agreements, and see if they are stable and what kinds of protections need to be put in place.”

May said he thinks approval could come before year’s end.

“The filing with the PSC has already occurred. I’m sure the LPSC will take it up, hire outside counsel in the things that they do, have a thorough investigation of this proposal,” May said. “We believe this could work through Louisiana Public Service Commission’s lightning initiative, that will allow it to be approved by the end of this year.”

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