The Louisiana Legislature convened on Feb. 19 for a special legislative session, which could result in significant changes to the state’s public safety sector and criminal justice system.
Among the more than two dozen bills introduced before the session were Republican measures that would expand methods for carrying out death row executions, restrict parole eligibility, impose harsher penalties for carjackings, grant law enforcement “immunity from liability” under certain criteria, and make certain juvenile court records public.
Legislators assert that the strong-on-crime policy proposals will keep criminals incarcerated and off the streets of Louisiana, with a particular emphasis on justice for victims.
“This special session begins to fulfill the campaign promises we made to the people of Louisiana to make our State Safe Again. No one, regardless of their neighborhood or zip code, should feel unsafe. We all want safer communities,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said in a statement calling for the session on Feb. 8.
“We will defend and uplift our law enforcement officials and deliver true justice to crime victims who have been overlooked for far too long. I am eager to enact real change that makes Louisiana a safer state for all.”
Some state lawmakers have expressed concerns that the range of legislation proposed wouldn’t effectively tackle the pressing problem of violent crime that afflicts the state. Rather, it may reverse historic and bipartisan reforms that were successfully implemented during Mr. Landry’s Democratic predecessor’s administration.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana responded to news of the special session, saying it was “deeply concerned with the ’tough on crime' sweeping policy proposals of the governor.”
The group went on to assert in its Feb. 8 press release that the governor’s policy proposals “are not evidence-based, lack the data necessary to inform sound criminal justice policy, and will disproportionately harm communities of color.”
Death Penalty Method Expansion
Legislators in Louisiana, similar to those in other reliably conservative states where the execution process has stalled, are seeking to expand methods of carrying out the death penalty.The Deep South state is considering reintroducing electrocution and adding the more recent execution method of oxygen deprivation using nitrogen gas, which was used in Alabama in January.
There are 58 inmates awaiting execution in Louisiana. However, there have been no executions since 2010. The measure to allow nitrogen hypoxia as a form of execution, introduced by Republican state Rep. Nicholas Muscarello, would maintain lethal injection as the favored approach in the state of Louisiana.
However, because of legal disputes and a scarcity of lethal injection drugs, the state has experienced a cessation of executions, with none scheduled at this time.
In recent years, a limited number of states have endeavored to reintroduce alternative methods of execution, including firing squads.
The utilization of nitrogen gas for executions has been introduced in other regions of the nation. Missouri and Oklahoma have already enacted legislation permitting the use of nitrogen gas, and several other states, including Nebraska, have introduced bills to add the option to their statutes.
Other Criminal Justice Legislation
Several proposals will be the subject of debate throughout the allotted 2 1/2-week session.Among them is proposed legislation for decreased parole eligibility and the amount of time offenders can have their sentences reduced in exchange for good conduct, which would be the result of the addition of parole conditions and restrictions to a number of bills.
The repeal of the state’s “Raise the Age” legislation, which was enacted by legislators in 2016, is a topic on Mr. Landry’s agenda for this session. In lieu of automatically rerouting 17-year-olds apprehended for nonviolent offenses through the adult criminal justice system, the legislation referred them to the juvenile prosecution system. This would be a significant reform in the state’s criminal justice system.
Certain crimes, including carjacking and weapons offenses, have been the subject of legislative proposals for harsher sentences and penalties.
Fentanyl distribution to minors would be criminalized under one measure, carrying a sentence of 25 to 99 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
There have been at least two proposals introduced in an effort to provide law enforcement officers and the public with additional legal protection by exempting them from liability “based upon certain criteria.”
One such bill proposes that “liability shall not be imposed on any peace officer ... based upon the conduct or actions of a peace officer in the performance of any discretionary function within the course and scope of his duties.”
A second bill “prohibits civil claims against peace officers and certain public entities based upon the conduct or actions of a peace officer in performance of any discretionary function within the course and scope of his law enforcement duties.”
A resolution that would permit adults in Louisiana to carry concealed firearms without a permit will once more be introduced by legislators.
In 2021, when the measure passed the state House and Senate, it was the closest Louisiana came to implementing a permitless concealed carry law, also known as “constitutional carry,” but the governor at the time vetoed the bill.
The Epoch Times reached out to inmate advocacy groups for a response to the legislation but received none by press time.
