BATON ROUGE, La. — A new state law calling for 17-year-olds to be prosecuted in adult court passed in the state senate on Thursday.
The vote came as the Louisiana state senate entered the fourth day of a special session called by Gov. Jeff Landry to pass new tough-on-crime policies.
The bill passed 30 to 9 -- largely along party lines. Two Democrats, Jay Luneau (Pineville) and Edward J. Price (Gonzales) voted with all of their Republican colleagues in favor of the bill.
The new bill would get rid of a 2017 law that had raised the age of prosecution in adult court to 18.
The law applies to any 17-year-old who committed a crime since March 2019. If passed the law would take effect on April 19.
Other bills filed in the special session, set to finish on March 6, include eliminating the possibility of parole for most prisoners and exploring different execution options for inmates facing the death penalty.