Louisiana’s legislature took up dozens of hard-won landmark criminal justice reforms on Monday as part of a special session at the behest of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, who wants to see that progress reversed.
Lawmakers considered more than 24 tough on crime items, including expanding methods to carry out death row executions, restricting parole eligibility, harsher penalties for carjackings, immunity from liability for law enforcement based upon a certain criteria and publicizing some juvenile court records.
This aligns with Landry’s campaign promises to make our state safe again, but advocates say the policy changes threaten to undo six years of criminal justice reform in Louisiana.
Louisiana used to have the highest incarceration rate in the nation but relinquished the title under 2017 reforms enacted by Landry’s predecessor, Gov. John Bel Edwards. Edwards, a Democrat, overhauled a series of bills that expanded probation and parole opportunities and reduced sentences for mostly non-violent offenders. Money the state saved in the process – at least $150 million – went toward programs aimed at keeping recidivism rates low. Under the new policies, the rates fell by around 25 percent.
But Landry, a former sheriff’s deputy and the state’s former attorney general, slammed the reforms early on and vowed to crack down on crime.
One item on Landry’s agenda could legalize nitrogen hypoxia executions, the controversial method recently used for the first time in Alabama. Other forms of execution, including lethal injection and electrocution, would remain intact under the bill, though the state hasn’t used them to carry out an execution in almost 15 years. Louisiana has around 60 people currently on death row.
The bill also grants confidentiality to companies who provide drugs for lethal injections.
Landry’s agenda items aren’t just confined to adult prison facilities. The governor is hoping to repeal protections for incarcerated youth by overturning Raise the Age, a key criminal justice reform that raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18. The law requires the state to treat teens under 18 as juveniles for all minor offenses. State Sen. Stewart Cathey’s proposal, if adopted, would drop the age of criminal responsibility back down to 17 and could result in more youth being incarcerated in adult prisons. The law was aimed at protecting youth from abuse in adult prisons, a major issue in several of the state’s facilities.
Advocates expressed concern over Landry’s proposals, including the ACLU of Louisiana, which said in a statement that people of color would be disproportionately harmed.
The ACLU of Louisiana is deeply concerned with the tough on crime sweeping policy proposals of the governor.with Landry’s sweeping policy proposals. the statement said.
Some anti-death penalty advocates say Landry’s rush to hold a legislative session amounts to political grandstanding and does little, if anything, for public safety.
You’ve got a new governor and he wants to be tough on crime. Co-founder of Death Penalty Action Abraham Bonowitz said. But offering up new ways of executions isn’t going to do anything to keep people in Louisiana safe. We know that we can be safe from people who’ve committed terrible crimes and hold them accountable without them. Bonowitz said.
The special legislative session will convene again Tuesday and must adjourn before the regular legislative session on Wednesday, March 6.
