Plans to move violent youth offenders to Angola on hold

Governor John Bel Edwards plan to move violent youth offenders from the Bridge City Center for Youth to Angola are on hold until September after a team of civil rights attorneys filed a motion in federal court on the grounds that it violates a juvenile’s due process. Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino says the suit has merit because the U.S. Supreme Court says you can’t treat juveniles the same as adults.

“The principle underlying purpose for juvenile detention facilities is rehabilitation, it’s trying to develop these people into productive adults,” said Ciolino.

A trial on the matter is scheduled for September 6^th and 7^th.

While the adult prison system’s purpose is also rehabilitation, it also includes retribution and public protection. However, Ciolino says today’s youth offender is not the same as they used to be because juveniles have become increasingly more violent.

“Of course, increasingly the likely to use firearms, and there is a public safety element to this, absolutely there is,” said Ciolino.

Public safety came to the forefront after the most recent incident involving escapees from the Bridge City facility resulted in the shooting of a 59-year-old man who remains hospitalized in critical condition.

U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick has ordered the state to submit a detailed plan on the proposed transfer to the court by September 2^nd prior to the trial. Ciolino says the plan must demonstrate how they will keep youth offenders separate from the adult population and that those juveniles will continue to receive adequate rehabilitation services.

“A lot of that remains to be seen, but it does show that the governor and the Department of Corrections are cognizant of their obligations to treat these offenders differently,” said Ciolino.

In addition to their detailed plan, the state has to provide the proposed list of juveniles to be transferred to Angola along with their guardian’s information to the court by Wednesday. Attorneys who filed the complaint have until Monday to interview juveniles who reside in the Bridge City facility.