Governor John Bel Edwards’ plan to send the most violent inmates from the troubled Bridge City Center for Youth to Angola state prison is coming under fire. The juvenile jail has had four violent escapes so far this year. Among critics of the plan is Loyola University professor of law Hector Linares says it seems like a bad decision, and a possible violation of federal law.
“It’s called the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act that requires complete sight and sound separation for youth that are held in facilities that are co-located with adult prisons,” says Linares.
The Governor and Department of Corrections say the juvenile inmates moved from Bridge City will be segregated from the adult population at Angola. Linares says federal law dictates under those circumstances juveniles and adults must not see or hear each other, and perhaps that hasn’t been considered.
“I don’t see how they’re going to do that, short of locking the youth in a windowless cell all day and not letting them out – which would also be illegal.”
Linares wonders if segregated dining and medical infirmary accommodations have been taken into account. Other critics of the plan say it unfairly punishes people of color. A small crowd gathered Thursday night outside the Bridge City Center to protest moving detainees to Angola. Linares says, if state officials sought a quick fix for problems at the center, this was not a good choice. He suggests moving the LEAST violent detainees to lower-security facilities, rather than this option.
“…and that would free up resources and personnel to give the attention and services to these higher level, higher needs youth.”
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