The state Office of Juvenile Justice says it has moved the youth juvenile offenders housed at a temporary facility at Angola to a new juvenile justice facility in Jackson Parish. A federal judge ruled last week the state needs to relocate the youth from the grounds of an adult prison. The lead plaintiffs attorney David Utter is happy to see OJJ act.
“The stench of the former Death Row and those cells were just completely inappropriate for those kids in the juvenile justice system,” said Utter.
Utter filed the lawsuit to have the youths moved to another facility. He says juveniles were placed in solitary confinement and not getting the necessary rehabilitative treatment. The O-J-J denies those claims, but Utter says the court evidence is clear.
“The testimony was very, very clear that the conditions at the Angola facility were very punitive and harming the children there,” said Utter.
The state moved 15 juvenile offenders from the temporary facility at Angola to a new juvenile justice facility in Jackson Parish. Utter says they’ll wait to see how the youths are treated before deciding if they will continue with the civil rights lawsuit.
“I need to consult with my co-counsel and also talk to the state to see what their plans are, it’s too early to tell,” said Utter.
The OJJ moved the youth to Angola after a series of escapes and violent episodes at other juvenile justice facilities. The eventual plan is to house high-risk juveniles at a new state-run facility near Monroe, but it’s still under construction.
Here is there complete statement.
This morning, the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) transferred all youth out of the West Feliciana Center for Youth located on the grounds of Louisiana State Penitentiary.
After the District Court ruling last week, OJJ staff made contact with local officials in Jackson Parish who opened a new juvenile justice facility in July of this year. This new local facility, which is already serving youth in local juvenile justice programs, has the capacity to temporarily house OJJ youth while work continues on the new state-run Swanson secure care facility. OJJ officials will work alongside local officials to ensure that OJJ youth housed in Jackson Parish continue to receive rehabilitative services and care that follows state and federal laws and regulations.
OJJ intends to move forward with our appeal of the recent ruling by the U.S. District Court. OJJ continues to disagree with the court’s ruling, which we believe contained several findings about the conditions at the West Feliciana Center for Youth that are at odds with the facts. The West Feliciana Center for Youth was a necessary, but temporary solution to address serious security issues at OJJ facilities across the state that threatened the safety of staff, community members, and youth in our care. The youth who were temporarily housed there received targeted rehabilitative services and care from hardworking OJJ staff, who took extraordinary measures to ensure the facility could successfully serve the youth.
Last year, the legislature passed, and Gov. John Bel Edwards signed, Act 693 into law, which created a tiered system of low-risk, moderate-risk, and high-risk juveniles within OJJ’s secure care facilities.
OJJ’s long-term plan is to transfer all youth needing intensive therapeutic services to the new Swanson Center for Youth at Monroe, which is a Tier 1 secure care facility that is scheduled to open later this year. Once the new Swanson facility is open, we do not anticipate that any youth in OJJ care will be housed in Jackson Parish.
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