LOUISIANA, USA — The special legislation session set to begin after Mardi Gras is beginning to take shape.
As of Friday, 17 bills have been pre-filed, seeking to overhaul Louisiana’s current criminal justice system.
Gov. Jeff Landry made a campaign promise, early and often to get tough on criminals.
Thursday he released a 24-item call for the session aimed at doing just that.
The agenda includes expanding methods to carry out death row executions, restricting parole eligibility, lowering the age young offenders can be sent adult prison, and enacting harsher penalties for certain crimes like carjacking.
“You talk about carjacking, it’s almost like a sport in New Orleans it seems like,” Rep. Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville said. “Kids going out stealing a car must not need it too badly because they dump it an hour later. We just have to get away from that.”
A bill by Rep. Laurie Schlegel, R-Metairie would change the minimum penalty for carjacking with serious bodily injury from 10 to 20 years.
The maximum penalty would go from 20 to 30 years.
Rep. Kyle Green says jailing more people with longer sentences doesn’t address the root causes of crime such as poor education and lack of opportunities.
“For a long time, Louisiana led the entire world in incarcerating people, right,” Green said. “So, if jailing people was the solution, then we’d be the safest place in the world, but clearly we aren’t.”
The proposed agenda could also reverse a package of criminal justice reform bills passed in 2017. It expanded probation and parole opportunities and reduced sentences, mainly for nonviolent offenders.
The ACLU of Louisiana has major concerns.
“What the data shows is a tough on crime approach does not actually help reduce crime rates it does not improve recidivism rates, what does do that is investments in community-based services,” ACLU LA Executive Dir. Alanah Odoms said.
The 17-day session is set to begin on Feb. 19.
“The entire call is deeply troubling and concerning,” Green said.
“I think it’s fair to say we’re evaluating everything with the purpose of reducing crime in our state,” Bacala said.
One of the other items in the call would authorize the carrying of a concealed weapon without a permit.
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