www.thecentersquare.com – By Steve Wilson | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-21 16:27:00
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order addressing a major security breach at the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility, where 10 inmates escaped by removing a toilet and creating a hole in the wall. Five inmates have been recaptured, and the others remain at large. The order calls for an investigation by Attorney General Liz Murrill, audits by the state inspector general, and reviews of jail operations by the Department of Corrections. It also mandates judicial performance evaluations and the creation of a case-tracking system by the Metropolitan Crime Commission to improve the criminal justice system.
(The Center Square) — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order Wednesday that demands an “immediate and aggressive response across multiple state agencies to address a major breach at the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility.
Ten inmates at the New Orleans facility escaped on Friday after removing a toilet and burrowing through a hole in the wall, even writing “to [sic] easy LOL” as a bit of parting graffiti.
Five of them have been caught, but the remainder are still at large.
“Our criminal justice system is a three-legged bar stool. If one fails, the whole system collapses,” Landry said in a news release. “This brings us to where we are today – New Orleans willingly handed the jail keys to those leaders who vowed to keep criminals out of jail. Sadly, it worked.
“However, the state will not sit idly by. We are taking immediate, decisive action to ensure that this never happens again. The people of Louisiana deserve not only transparency and accountability, but also a justice system that is unyielding in its commitment to public safety – and our executive order demands it. Enough is enough.”
The executive order will task state Attorney General Liz Murrill with an investigation into the jail break. The order also requires the state inspector general to oversee audits of case files. The state Department of Corrections will review jail operations for compliance with jail standards and relocate any state inmates, for which the parish is paid by the DOC, to state facilities.
The Louisiana Supreme Court will be asked to review the Orleans Criminal Court. His order also requires the state Judiciary Commission evaluate judicial performance in high-crime parishes.
Landry’s order also requires documentation of continuance requests by court clerks, and judges are encouraged to address unnecessary delays.
The Metropolitan Crime Commission will be asked to develop a system to track cases from arrest to conviction.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Right-Leaning
The article reports on Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry’s executive order following a jail break, focusing heavily on themes of law and order, public safety, and accountability within the criminal justice system. The framing emphasizes tough-on-crime rhetoric, including phrases like “enough is enough” and criticism of local leadership that “vowed to keep criminals out of jail,” which reflects a punitive, conservative approach to criminal justice issues. The coverage centers on the governor’s decisive actions and critiques of judicial leniency, which aligns with a right-leaning ideological stance. Although it largely presents facts and quotes the governor’s statements, the selected language and framing suggest a perspective supportive of stricter criminal justice policies, rather than a neutral or balanced reporting stance.
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