Louisiana moves closer to final passage of tough-on-crime bills that could overhaul justice system

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana, a state grappling with one of the highest rates of incarceration and violent crime in the country, is on the cusp of overhauling parts of its criminal justice system as the state’s GOP-dominated legislature barrels ahead with a package of bills — ranging from expanding death row execution methods, charging 17-year-olds as adults and eliminating the opportunity of parole for most jailed in the future.

Spurred by violent crimes plaguing urban areas, gut-wrenching testimony from victims and a new tough-on-crime governor, lawmakers returned to the capitol Monday with a sense of urgency for their second week of a special legislative session. In the coming days, legislators will continue debate, and likely take a final vote, on bills that if passed would scale back or completely reverse historic bipartisan reforms passed in 2017 that aimed to reduce the state’s prison population.

Republicans say the reforms — which included softening harsh sentencing, created more opportunities for parole and expanded prisoner rehabilitation programs — have failed to provide substantial justice for victims and allows dangerous criminals back on the streets.

But Democrats fear proposed legislation — which is being advanced at a dizzying pace — could hinder any progress the state has made over the years and wouldn’t deter crime. Opponents say this session’s Republican-authored bills are “reactive” and give a “false sense of immediate gratification” when the state needs to dig deeper down to the root of the issue and take a more “holistic approach”, including additional funding and programs to address drug addiction, mental health, education and improving outcomes for prisoners who re-enter society.