NEW ORLEANS — Youth advocates and attorneys representing children currently held at Angola will go before a federal judge on Tuesday, calling for the youths' immediate release from the Louisiana State Penitentiary.
They say they're being subject to excessive heat and deprived of services.
Late last year juvenile offenders were transferred from the Bridge City Center for Youth to a building on the grounds of the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Youth advocates say temperatures inside those kids' cells are hitting 133 degrees.
Tuesday morning a multi-day hearing will kick off, with advocates and attorneys calling for a federal judge to take emergency action to order the state to remove the children from Angola.
Back in July, ACLU filed an emergency motion alleging exposure to extreme heat.
According to the lawsuit, "youth allegedly suffer from excessive heat and a lack of adequate ventilation in their cells, and lack adequate access to safe drinking water."
Antonio Travis with Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children says kids should've never been sent to Angola in the first place.
"We've heard that these kids are not able to come out of their cells for over an allotted amount of time and so these kids are really suffering inside. These young people deserve to get the treatment and care that OJJ is supposed to provide."
The Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice said on the contrary, the kids in Angola do have A/C.
In a statement OJJ said, "Since before the facility was opened, the Office of Juvenile Justice has worked diligently and deliberately to make certain the three-wing unit is fully air conditioned. OJJ has spent more than $126,000 to ensure the facility is properly cooled and heated for both the youth and staff."
Jefferson Parish Councilman, Deano Bonano says the state needs to find a place to house these youth. He told Eyewitness News, "I'm fearful they would attempt to bring them back here. I don't care if you're 15 or 50. If you've been shown to have violent behavior and a violent nature you need to be in prison until such time you proof to be rehabilitated."
He says he wasn't aware of the allegations of extreme heat inside the prison.
The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections said the Office of Juvenile Justice is neither under nor part of DOC, and that OJJ is operating the facilities housing the youth.