With many cities in Louisiana facing spikes in violent crime, lawmakers passed a bill to rollback some of the provisions of the Justice Reinvestment Act. But Governor John Bel Edwards has vetoed a bill that called for change.

Oil Boom Shifts The Landscape Of Rural North Dakota
Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images
loading...

The  Governor says Justice Reinvestment Act was passed in 2017 "with strong bipartisan support." He says those reforms adopted by lawmakers focused on non-violent offenders in an effort to "change Louisiana's status as the state with the highest incarceration rate in the country."

The Governor says this bill which was passed unanimously by the State Senate "would take us in the wrong direction."

This bill would change the good time reforms for offenders "convicted a fourth or subsequent time of a nonviolent felony offense."

This measure also called for no reduction of prison sentences for people convicted of a second offense crime of violence or if the instant offense is a sex offense

In some cases, the current good time law (passed in the justice reinvestment act) calls for a sentence reduction to just 25% of the actual sentence. The Governor wants to keep that measure in place despite calls from many law enforcement groups to keep criminals locked up.

Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator tells KEEL News this veto by the Governor is "incredibly disappointing."

Jail-Bars-3-iStock-300x200
loading...

In 2021, more than 3,200 people were locked up in Louisiana for a conviction of a 4th or subsequent nonviolent felony, with an average sentence length of 4.39 years. Under current law, these offenders would serve 25% of the sentence imposed, or 1.10 years. This new law passed would make these offenders serve 65% of the sentence, or 2.9 years. 

Caddo Correctional Center Weekend Bookings 6/3/22-6/5/22

The following mugshots are those who were booked to the Caddo Correctional Center through the dates of, 6/3/22-6/5/22. Some of these inmates have already been released. Some inmates have yet to go to trial for their alleged crimes, and are considered innocent until proven guilty.

Bossier Parish Mugshot Round-Up 6/3/2022 - 6/5/2022

It was another long weekend in Bossier Parish as the brave men and women of the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office cleaned up the streets once again. The charges levied against these folks range from DWI to drug possession - with a healthy dose of failure to appear! That being said - it's important to note that some of these inmates have already been released, and several have yet to go to trial for their alleged crimes. 

All are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

More From News Talk 96.5 KPEL