The US Department of Justice is investigating the Louisiana Department of Corrections over allegations the state is keeping prisoners incarcerated long past their release date.
Attorney William Most was part of the legal team that filed a series of lawsuits looking into the practice that triggered the investigation. He said the DOC has known since 2012 that they hold about 2,200 people past their release date every year.
“In 2012 it was about 70 days per person on average and it is still more than about a month and a half per person on average for a total of hundreds of years per year,” said Most
Most identified one of the biggest problems leading to these delays.
“When someone is sentenced for say credit for time served and should be released immediately they aren’t. The Department of Corrections takes weeks, sometimes months, to actually getting around to calculating their time,” said Most who added that other states have release delays of a few days at most and that no other state they’ve found has delays that last over a month.
Most said not only is the practice unjust and illegal, it’s costing taxpayers a lot of money.
“The DOC when it analyzed the problem in 2012 found that if they cut the problem in half they would save 3.7 million dollars per year and they didn’t,” said Most.
The Louisiana Department of Corrections responded to the investigation saying they “Look forward to fully cooperating with the US Department of Justice. The DOC takes this very seriously, and will assist in whatever way necessary in this investigation.”
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