Louisiana
Parole committee for people convicted by nonunanimous juries advances
Incarcerated people with nonunanimous jury convictions would be able to send an application for parole to the committee within its first year.
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BATON ROUGE — A bill that would allow a committee to recommend parole to incarcerated Louisiana residents who received convictions through nonunanimous jury verdicts advanced 4-3 along party lines in a Senate judiciary committee.
Senate Bill 215 would allow the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to create a committee to review the appeal records of cases with nonunanimous convictions.
Incarcerated people with nonunanimous jury convictions would be able to send an application for parole to the committee within its first year. The committee would end after three years.
Democrats and advocacy groups opposed the bill, saying it did not go far enough to correct the problems.
The bill is meant to address possibly unjust convictions that are no longer legal in Louisiana after a constitutional amendment requiring unanimous verdicts passed in 2018.
The original law, allowing for convictions on as little as a 9-3 vote, was part of the 1898 constitutional convention, and it was designed to dilute Black jurors’ votes.
Louisiana changed the requirement to a 10-2 vote during the 1973 constitutional convention. Oregon, the only other state that allowed nonunanimous juries, had the same requirement.
Under the new bill, clerks of court would provide applicants with their records free of charge, and district attorneys and victims could respond at hearings.
Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Mandeville, who wrote the bill, said the legislation was a compromise between district attorneys who believed in the validity of convictions and criminal justice advocates.
“There’s likely not a way that either of those groups can come to a full consensus, but I think it was important to have the discussions and to continue to have the discussions,” McMath said.
Bradley R. Burget, president of the Louisiana District Attorney’s Association, supported the bill.
“We’re not exactly happy with it,” Burget said. “There’s a lot of the members of the DA’s association that may not be 100% for this, but I think this is something that they can live with.”
Zachary Daniels, the association’s executive director, liked the bill’s provision giving the committee authority to determine which nonunanimous convictions are just since “many of these contain strong evidence and are valid convictions where the prosecutor played by the rules at the time.”
Before the legislative session, the association found at least 1,215 cases a committee could analyze.
Daniels said it would be impossible to retry all of these cases because witnesses, officers and victims may no longer be available, and evidence may no longer exist.
The extensive list of issues the committee could consider includes the length of jury deliberations, the strength of the state’s case, the effectiveness of the defense attorney and evidence of racism.
Former Rep. Randal Gaines, who is now chair of the Democratic Party of Louisiana, filed a similar bill in 2022 that included the same list of issues that could be reviewed.
Herman Evans, who spent 37 years in prison after a nonunanimous jury convicted him in 1989 for a second-degree murder he did not commit, opposed the bill. Even after the perpetrator confessed in 2012, Evans did not get a hearing until 2024.
“That bill ain’t going to do nothing,” Evan said. “They’ve got the parole board. They’ve got the clemency board. It’s about the same board. And it costs about the same if you bring them back and let them get denied.”
Daniels said the expected cost to implement the bill is $1.8 million, based on a study resolution written for the 2025 legislative session by Sen. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine.
Owen also filed House Bill 219 that would allow courts to have resentencing hearings for nonunanimous convictions. The House Committee on Administration has not heard the bill yet.
One issue that arose in the meeting was the governor’s impact on the committee.
The governor would appoint to the committee three retired appellate court judges or Louisiana Supreme Court justices, one retired district attorney or assistant district attorney and one retired public defender.
The district attorney and public defender appointees would come from a list of three nominations from the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and the state public defender.
Although all five members would need to agree that a conviction was unfair, the current bill would allow the governor to make final decisions on releasing applicants.
The current bill does not provide details on the governor’s power. Daniels said the bill would eventually include that language after input from attorneys from the governor’s office.
Daniels also noted that there may be some conflict between the committee’s final decision and Gov. Jeff Landry’s tough-on-crime approach.
Sarah Gozalo of the Promise of Justice Initiative expressed concerns about the governor’s ultimate power.
“If we find that miscarriage of justice, the solution is, we will ask the governor — the one person who, in 2018, opposed getting rid of nonunanimous jurors,” Gozalo said.
Other opponents of the bill suggested keeping the bill in committee until it was amended to address their concerns.
Bruce Reilly, deputy director of Voice of the Experienced, and Erica Navalance, a criminal defense attorney, recommended adding post-conviction evidence to the records the committee sees to prove claims of ineffective defense counsel or prosecutorial misconduct.
McMath declined to defer the bill.
“I think that holding it up in this committee doesn’t necessarily give the chance to continue to move on through the process, where we all know that things sometimes can change and get new input,” McMath said.
Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, who had a similar bill in 2025 that did not pass, objected to the bill’s advancement.
“Just know that this is not an easy objection for me,” Duplessis said. “And if this bill does advance, I want to continue, or at least I want to work with you, to try to find a solution, because it’s been stated repeatedly, we’re not quite there.”
The Louisiana State Police has issued a Silver Alert on behalf of the Monroe Police Department for 67-year-old Blanche Thomas McGhee. She was discovered missing from her residence on Harrison Street today, at approximately 10:11 a.m. The Louisiana State Police received the request to issue a Silver Alert at approximately 1:49 p.m.
McGhee has brown eyes and black hair. She is 5’5” and weighs approximately 199 pounds. Family reports that McGhee has a medical condition that may impair her judgment.
McGhee is believed to be driving a silver 2018 Toyota RAV4 bearing Louisiana license plate 343JVI.
Anyone with information regarding McGhee’s whereabouts is asked to immediately contact the Monroe Police Department at (318) 329-2600 or dial 911. All questions should be directed to the Monroe Police Department.
Watch Shreveport Regional Airport announce new gate, flights
Shreveport Regional Airport unveils a newly renovated Gate 8, launches a visitor pass, and announces new flights.
Shreveport soon will officially be known as the Stuffed Shrimp Capital of Louisiana, a city that traces the origins of the delicacy to the historic Freeman & Harris Cafe, which was one of the oldest Black-owned restaurants before it closed permanently in 2006.
House Bill 9 by Democratic Shreveport Rep. Joy Walters cleared the Senate May 26 on a unanimous 36-0 vote and will become law with Gov. Jeff Landry’s signature.
“We don’t talk enough about the positive things that happen in Shreveport,” Walters said in an interview with USA Today Network. “It’s exciting for me to be able to amplify our culinary and hospitality reputation.”
Though Freeman & Harris closed, its legacy is carried on by family-connected restaurants like Eddie’s Seafood and Soulfood and Orlandeaux’s Cafe. Eddie’s was named one of the “Best Soul Food Restaurants in the South” by Southern Living in 2015.
Walters said her favorites are the Freeman & Harris Cafe legacy restaurants Eddie’s and Orlandeaux’s, but many eateries offer the Shreveport-style stuffed shrimp in the city.
Democratic Shreveport Sen. Sam Jenkins carried the bill for Walters in the Senate on Tuesday, where he told colleagues this was their chance to vote for “the tastiest and most delicious bill of the Session.”
“It’s a big deal in Shreveport,” Jenkins told USA Today Network.
Like Walters, Jenkins said his top spots for the dish are Eddie’s and Orlandeaux’s.
Shreveport also plays host to the annual Stuffed Shrimp Festival each spring.
Visit Shreveport-Bossier promotes the dish, describing Shreveport-style stuffed shrimp as “large, succulent shrimp are stuffed with fiery Creole dressing, deep-fried and served with a spicy tartar sauce.”
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
A woman from Maryland detained by ICE last year told News4 conditions are challenging inside the detention center where she’s been held since August.
Maryland does not have ICE detention centers, so detained immigrants are sent to detention centers in other states. That includes Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, which has faced complaints in the past about detainee care and facility conditions.
“Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
“I miss my family,” Damaris Gomez-Laurens said from inside Richwood. “They treat us like a, like a criminal. I feel like that. I feel like that.”
Gomez-Laurens called her family one day when the News4 I-Team visited them in Maryland. The signal was unstable, going in and out. Those detained have to pay for the calls. This one cost just over $3.
The I-Team’s asked Gomez-Laurens what it has been like being away from her husband and two sons.
“It’s really hard,” she said. “We’ve never been separated. And I have more than seven months without them.”
Gomez-Laurens lived a full life in Prince George’s County for more than 20 years. Pictures provided by the family tell the story of a mom surrounded by her husband, their boys and extended relatives.
“Without her, these past holidays were tough, very difficult – not having her and thinking what she was going through by herself too,” said her niece Heisy Garcia. “She’s the key part of our family. She keep us together too.”
Garcia said her aunt was detained during her annual ICE probation check-in in Baltimore. She had a work permit and operated an electrical business with her husband, Garcia said. She has no criminal record and has been trying to become a legal citizen since 2014, according to Garcia.
The detention has cost her family both emotionally and financially.
“Just her own attorney that she files for emergency stays, for her appeal to reopen her immigration case, you’re talking about from $5,000 to $6,000,” Garcia said. “Now, going through consultations from attorney to attorney, it’s $500 at each consultation. And then having a different attorney in another state, that’s another $6,000.”
Visiting is hard because the facility is almost 1,000 miles away. The family told News4 their trip to Richwood earlier this year was tough for other reasons too.
“After months of not seeing her, so, we hugged her and one of the officers start yelling ‘Stop! Stop! You can only hug her for 10 seconds!’” Garcia said. “I was like, ‘10 seconds? They told us three minutes.’”
‘Worst of the worst’
The family told us they visited during the snowstorm that hit in January, leading to problems at the facility.
“It seems like the pipe burst and they were without water for 48 hours,” said Garcia.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the I-Team in a statement:“Due to the freezing temperatures in January 2026, there was an issue with the water supply for a short period of time and, like always, ICE was prepared for this contingency. Bottled water was immediately issued, and portable water tanks were introduced to enable proper cycling of toilets. Detainees were NOT made to wait 48 hours for water and were given access to water bottles immediately.”
During the video phone call, Gomez-Laurens discussed other challenges. “The bathroom is really bad conditions. They always wet, because they are always leaking. Leaking, leaking. Always is wet,” she said.
“Richwood, I think, is the worst of the worst,” said Vincent Rivas Flores, an immigration attorney with Amica Center for Immigrant Rights.
He told the I-Team he’s heard complaints about cleanliness and other issues from clients from Maryland who also are detained at Richwood.
“For months, my clients have told me that there has been mold problems in the bathrooms and the toilets and the showers,” he said.
According to a 2023 DHS office of inspector general report, inspectors found health and safety violations, including poor housing conditions and unclean showers. DHS said it addressed these issues with renovations.
“So much can change if Richwood actually listened to the complaints. These complaints are not new,” said Rivas Flores.
The OIG report also noted that Richwood restricted detainees’ access to legal visitation and calls without providing justification.
ICE said it complies with all standards and logs whether any restrictions have to be made.
“Sometimes I will not be able to talk to my clients for several days, unless they call me. And if they’re calling me, they have to use their own account. They have to use their money in order to make that phone call, and it’s not a private call,” said Rivas Flores.
The I-Team asked him what he thinks Richwood can do to improve things.
“The number one thing that they can do is fix the food,” he said. “That’s probably the first thing that can do, and it almost certainly would be the easiest.”
Gomez-Laurens also talked about the food.
“The food is not really good. Since I came in I have, I don’t have any fruit, real fruit,” she said. “We stay one week with bologna sandwich. One bologna, two piece of bread, and cookie or chips for a week, lunch and dinner.”
DHS responded via statement, telling the I-Team: “All detainees are provided with 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, and toiletries, and have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Certified dieticians evaluate meals. It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. This is the best healthcare than many aliens have received in their entire lives.”
Gomez-Laurens spoke to the I-Team from the room where she sleeps. The I-Team asked how many people often share the room.
“100. Now it’s 93, I think. Sometimes we have around 108,” said Gomez-Laurens.
Gomez-Laurens told News4 she ended up at Richwood after flying from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Maryland to Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana. While we don’t know how many others from Maryland are there, according to data collected from the ICE Flights Monitor project almost 60% of all ICE flights from Maryland since January 2025 were bound for Alexandria. That’s 91 flights through April of this year.
A local father shot by ICE officers during a Christmas Eve arrest in Glen Burnie is now pleading guilty to a federal charge and at risk of deportation.
‘Everything is coming down’
While Gomez-Lauren’s case is still going through the court system, her husband, Kevin Gomez, worries about the impact her absence is having, especially on their two young sons.
“Sometimes they demonstrate rebelliousness or they don’t want to do the things they usually did before,” he told our Telemundo 44 partners in Spanish.
He’s concerned about what happens next, including possible deportation.
“After so many years of living in this country, having many things built together, it’s like everything is coming down, and she has 20 years in this country, practically a life made. You have to return to a country that maybe you don’t know,” said Gomez.
Meanwhile, Gomez-Laurens’ family said she’s earned a nickname among the women in detention. They call her “Pastor.” She holds Bible studies and spends money sent by her family on higher-quality food from the commissary to feed the women during the holidays.
She said faith and hope are what sustains her.
“I’m preaching in this place. I know God has hope and that I really have hope on God,” she said. “I’m trusting him, and his justice. He will make justice. I know.”
The DHS spokesperson told the I-Team in a written statement: “Nearly every single day, DHS responds to media questions on FALSE allegations about ICE detention facilities. Any allegations of inhumane conditions are false. […] ICE has higher detention standards than most US prisons that hold actual US citizens.”
Richwood is a private facility. News4 also reached out to the company that runs Richwood for ICE, LaSalle Corrections, but has not heard back.
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