Following the first day of hearings over teens being housed at Angola, advocates voiced their frustrations with the Office of Juvenile Justice at a press conference Tuesday. Lead counsel, David Utter with Fair Fight Initiative said they want to know if the state is treating juveniles with deliberate indifference.
“Louisiana should be ashamed if that’s the question. There are other states that handle kids just as tough, just as big, just as strong, just as troubled, without throwing them into a cell,” said Utter.
After multiple escapes from juvenile facilities, the decision to move some inmates to Angola was made and more than a dozen teens have been housed there for the last 10 months.
Utter said they have documentation that shows the OJJ is in violation of state law by holding inmates, ages 14 to 18, in their cells for more than 23 hours a day.
“Now everybody at this press conference would call it what it is, it’s solitary confinement. But the state’s calling it cell restriction,” said Utter.
The juveniles are separated from the adult prisoners and are held where death row inmates were previously held in Angola.
Utter said Louisiana houses far too many juveniles and when asked where should they be held after multiple escapes from the Bridge City facility, he said the case is not about that.
“So, it’s about really shrinking the population and then taking our resources and really delivering the individualized care that each kid deserves,” said Utter.
During today’s hearing experts will testify about the dangers of extreme heat and children.
Comments