Airs Sunday, October 21, 2018, at 6 p.m. In 2017, Louisiana’s legislature passed the Justice Reinvestment Act, which sought to reduce the state’s highest-in-the-nation incarceration rate. The bill was championed by Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards and received bipartisan support including from community and business leaders. Now, just over a year later, the legislation has become a political football. State Attorney General Jeff Landry and Senator John Kennedy, both Republicans considering a run against Edwards in 2019, suggest that the reform package is a failure. They cite murders committed by two inmates released since the Act’s implementation. Are the criminal justice reforms working as intended?
Has the legislation put more residents in harm’s way or are plea deals part of the problem? Louisiana Public Square looks for answers to these questions and more on “Revisiting Reform”
Our panelists are:
- E. Pete Adams, Executive Director, La. District Attorneys Association
- Alanah Hebert, ACLU of Louisiana & Justice Reinvestment Task Force
- Andrew Hundley, Louisiana Parole Project
- Sec. Jimmy LeBlanc, La. Department of Corrections
The program features interviews with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry; Rep. Terry Landry, D- New Iberia, with the Justice Reinvestment Oversight Council; Deputy Assistant Secretary Natalie Laborde, with the Louisiana Department of Corrections; and Stephanie Riegel, editor of the Baton Rouge Business Report. LPB CEO, Beth Courtney and professor Robert Mann with the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication host the show.
