Posted on 02/06/2023 1:03:37 PM PST by ransomnote
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWednesday, January 25, 2023The Justice Department announced today that it has concluded there is reasonable cause to believe that the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections (LDOC) routinely confines people in its custody past the dates when they are legally entitled to be released from custody, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Specifically, the department concluded that: 1) LDOC denies individuals’ due process rights to timely release from incarceration; 2) LDOC’s failure to implement adequate policies and procedures causes systemic overdetentions; and 3) LDOC is deliberately indifferent to the systemic overdetention of people in its custody. For more than 10 years, LDOC has been on notice of its overdetention problem and has failed to take adequate measures to ensure timely releases of incarcerated individuals from its custody. Between January and April 2022 alone, 26.8% of the people released from LDOC’s custody were held past their release dates. Of those overdetained people, 24% were held over for at least 90 days, and the median number of days overdetained was 29. In just this four-month period, LDOC had to pay parish jails an estimated $850,000, at a minimum, in fees for the days those individuals were incarcerated beyond their lawful sentences. At that rate, this unconstitutional practice costs Louisiana over $2.5 million a year.
As required by the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), the department provided LDOC with written notice of the supporting facts for these findings and the minimum remedial measures necessary to address them.
“The Constitution guarantees that people incarcerated in jails and prisons may not be detained beyond their release dates, and it is the fundamental duty of the State to ensure that all people in its custody are released on time,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our investigation uncovered evidence of systemic violations by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections that have resulted in the routine confinement of people far beyond the dates when they are legally entitled to be released. We are committed to taking action that will ensure that the civil rights of people held in Louisiana’s jails and prisons are protected. We stand ready to work with state officials to institute long overdue reforms.”
“Persons are legally incarcerated every day in America and are ordered by the court to serve certain sentences primarily for punishment, deterrence and rehabilitation purposes,” said U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown for the Western District of Louisiana. “This ultimately benefits the individual, society and the criminal justice system. There is an obligation both to incarcerated persons and the taxpayers not to keep someone incarcerated for longer than they should be. This can be costly from a physical and mental standpoint for the incarcerated individual and a waste of money for the taxpayer. Timely release is not only a legal obligation, but arguably of equal importance, a moral obligation. We look forward to working with the Louisiana Department of Corrections to ensure that it has the policy and tools going forward to prevent overdetention from reoccurring.”
“It is the job of the U.S. Department of Justice to protect the constitutional rights of every person, including individuals who are incarcerated,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe Jr. for the Middle District of Louisiana. “While all government agencies operate under constraints, that is no excuse for violating the rights of people who have served their sentences and are ready to start their lives anew. Federal law requires equal justice for all. My office is committed to enforcing that mandate.”
“Today’s findings demonstrate the Department of Justice’s commitment to hold accountable institutions entrusted to protect the rights of all citizens, including people within the Louisiana Department of Corrections,” said U.S. Attorney Duane Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana. “Lawfully convicted people should not serve a day beyond their official designated release dates. Louisiana is wasting money on incarcerating people beyond their release dates and incurring legal expenses in defending lawsuits filed by the overdetained. We look forward to working with all affected parties to correct this problem.”
The Justice Department initiated the investigation in December 2020 under CRIPA, which authorizes the Department to take action to address a pattern or practice of deprivation of legal rights of individuals confined to state or local government-run correctional facilities.
Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the Justice Department by phone at 1-833-492-0097, or by email at community.louisianadoc@usdoj.gov.
For more information about the Civil Rights Division and the Special Litigation Section, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/crt/special-litigation-section. You can also report civil rights violations to the Civil Rights Division by completing a complaint form available at: https://civilrights.justice.gov/.
Additional information about the Eastern, Middle, and Western U.S. Attorneys Offices is available at: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edla , https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdla , and https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.
Topic(s):Civil RightsPress Release Number:23-91
Thanks
“Angola - A Gated Community” said the t-shirt this weekend.
This being Louisiana, I guarantee you Democrat (or RINO) politicians have an interest in private prisons and make a lot of money from prisoners, so they let them rot.
That $2.6 million probably made them a $1 billion.
They’ll keep doing it.
“Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections that have resulted in the routine confinement of people far beyond the dates when they are legally entitled to be released...”
By any other means, that would be kidnapping.
First, the cost of the excess incarceration has no place in a legal document. They are simply trying to gin up support for their conclusion.
Second, isn’t it standard practice to extend sentences due to infractions of prison rules? Clearly, they can delay early release for misbehavior. Some mechanism needs to be in place so that the prison officials can hold something over the inmates heads to induce good behavior during the final days. Otherwise, some inmates would beat up people they don’t like just before they leave.
“Second, isn’t it standard practice to extend sentences due to infractions of prison rules?”
That would require Due Process.
Making up for all the scum they let out early.
Seems to me that holding someone without a legal justification is kidnapping and likely even slavery given that Louisiana uses prison labor for the nation’s largest prison farm.
Why isn’t the DOJ arresting and prosecuting the responsible people in Louisiana for these gross violations of civil rights?
No kidding, do they do this with early release? I mean if there is a set sentence of 20 years, how can a Governor decide to let them out. If an elected official can do one, why not another.
Yeah, I read it in Les Miserables.
At least they HAD a release date, unlike our Jan 6 political prisoners.
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