Release plan for prisoners called unfair, By Penny Brown Roberts
From the Baton Rouge Advocate Release plan for prisoners called unfair
By PENNY BROWN ROBERTS
Advocate staff writer
The Louisiana Department of Corrections has been freeing evacuated prisoners in alphabetical order 35 at a time -- even though hundreds more have already served their sentences and should be out.
DOC spokeswoman Pam Laborde said Thursday the agency has released more than 675 inmates -- most of them facing misdemeanor charges in Orleans Parish. She did not have statistics on how many others are eligible for freedom.
Julie Kilborn, one of a dozen volunteer attorneys and investigators working on the cases for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, called the process "really slow" and "arbitrary."
"It's absolutely true more people are eligible for release," Kilborn said. "The problem with releasing them in alphabetical order is that if you were scheduled to be released in September and your name starts with a 'W,' you're going to sit there until DOC gets to your name. Their process is completely unfair and arbitrary. There's no reason for it."
However, Laborde said DOC releases a few dozen at a time so as not to "overwhelm any particular geographical area" with waves of ex-prisoners.
"We don't want to just en masse release hundreds of them all over the state of Louisiana and not have anywhere for them to go," Laborde said. "We're not just putting them out on the street; we're actively trying to find a family member or a shelter we can bring them to because a lot of these people are from Orleans Parish and they don't have any place to go. Thirty-five a day is a manageable number for us to find a place for them to go."
Hurricane Katrina forced the evacuation of 8,200 inmates from Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes to state prisons and other parish jails.
At issue are an untold number held on misdemeanor offenses such as public drunkenness, trespassing, disturbing the peace, prostitution, lewd conduct or even traffic violations. Some are being imprisoned beyond their release dates; others have never made an appearance in court.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey of New Orleans ordered the release of 16 such inmates who had served more than their time. They were among 94 who filed a class-action lawsuit demanding their freedom.
Since then, other inmates have filed at least a half-dozen similar lawsuits in Baton Rouge federal court.
Laborde said authorities are identifying prisoners eligible for release "in waves." DOC frees each one with $10 and bus tickets to destinations in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas or Tennessee, or transportation to a shelter.
Still in limbo are pre-hurricane arrestees who have never had a bond hearing. Orleans Parish judges tentatively scheduled a news conference at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel today to lay out their plans.
The destruction of criminal records in hurricane-ravaged parishes -- as well as the scattering of court workers -- caused some of the delay.
Kris Wartelle, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Attorney General's Office, which is getting judges to order releases, said the agency is "trying to help reconstruct the entire criminal-justice system as well as civil-court system for almost one-third of the state."
Authorities now have Orleans Parish Prison booking records listing the names, offenses and release dates for all those inmates. However, records in St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes were damaged by flooding, said Julie Cullen, director of the Louisiana Attorney General's Office Criminal Division.
Once they are reviewed, more prisoners could be freed.
Said Laborde: "It's a big challenge all around."
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posted by Elton B.Richey, Jr. @ 5:58 PM
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