‘Unconscionable’ criminal justice bills could fuel soaring incarceration in Louisiana

Louisiana’s Republican-dominated state legislature is poised to enact a swathe of new criminal justice measures as a special legislative session convenes on Monday, leaving reform advocates concerned about soaring rates of incarceration that may follow.

The session, called by the state’s new far-right governor, Jeff Landry, will consider two dozen items including broad restrictions on parole eligibility, measures to resume executions, the lowering of the age limit for adult prosecutions, and changes to post-conviction procedures often used to remedy wrongful convictions or excessive sentences.

The results are likely to undo hard-won bipartisan reform efforts in 2017, which helped shrink the state’s prison population by about a quarter and led to Louisiana losing the title of America’s most incarcerated state, with the rate of imprisonment slipping below Mississippi’s in recent years.

Landry, the state’s former attorney general, came to office in January after a campaign centered on hardline law and order. A former sheriff’s deputy, he was sworn into office in a ceremony lined by flags associated with the “blue lives matter” movement that aligns with law enforcement and is often associated with white nationalism, marking the end of eight years of Democratic incumbency in the deep south state.

In announcing the session on 8 February, Landry argued a raft of new laws would “repeal soft-on-crime policies that enable criminals and hurt our communities” and pledged to “make our state safe again”.

While rates of violent crime in Louisiana have long been among the highest in the nation, the state has seen a significant decline since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. And as details of the proposed new laws came into focus, advocates