“An Act of Regression: Louisiana takes a giant step backward in parole and sentencing reform”

The title of this post is the title of this new briefing from Prison Policy Initiative authored by Emmett Sanders. The subtitle of the discussion highlights its main themes: “Louisiana lawmakers are eliminating discretionary parole and implementing regressive truth-in-sentencing laws. These billion-dollar ‘zombie policies’ are set to double the prison population in a state that is already a world leader in incarceration and will harm public safety.” Here is how the briefing gets started (with links from the original):

With the passage of HB 9, Louisiana recently became the 17th state since 1976 — and the first in nearly a quarter of a century — to eliminate discretionary parole as a pathway for releasing people from its prisons.  Simultaneously, the state began implementing HB 10, one of the harshest truth-in-sentencing laws in the country.  These were among a host of other so-called “tough on crime” bills that were signed by Louisiana’s new governor, and will affect nearly everyone sentenced in the state after August 1, 2024.  Together, this package of regressive bills will set prison and sentencing reform back decades in the state: although lawmakers have framed them as “public safety” measures, these laws will have the opposite effect, doubling the prison population, compelling billions of dollars in new prison construction, and drastically escalating violence and trauma for incarcerated people and prison staff in the state.