PJI Overdetention Litigation Featured in New York Times
The Promise of Justice Initiative was again featured in the New York Times on the front page of the Sunday, December 11 edition. Our strategic litigation around Louisiana's harmful and ongoing practice of overdetention was discussed with quotes from our Deputy Director Jamila Johnson and our co-counsel William Most. PJI has been actively litigating these issues since 2020 through several cases.
Along with co-counsel Most & Associates and Loevy & Loevy, PJI sued the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections seeking to end the practice of over-detaining thousands of Louisianans each year in prisons and jails well past their legal release dates in two putative class actions.
Joel Giroir, one of the named plaintiffs, was eligible for release on the day he was sentenced by a judge on January 26, but wasn't released until February 22. Mr. Giroir’s family and friends called jail and Department of Corrections’ officials every day until he was released, trying to secure the freedom to which he was legally entitled. His girlfriend, Ashlee Hammond, said, “I can only imagine how bad it is for families who don’t realize they need to fight this. This system is flawed and needs to be fixed.”
Corrections officials have known about the effects of this bureaucratic incompetence for many years, but have failed to make any meaningful improvements. A study was conducted as early as 2012 revealing rampant over-detention throughout the state—thousands of people each year were being imprisoned beyond their court-ordered sentences. From the NYTimes article:
Roughly 200 inmates are held beyond their legal release dates on any given month in Louisiana, amounting to 2,000 to 2,500 of the 12,000 to 16,000 prisoners freed each year. The average length of additional time was around 44 days in 2019, according to internal state corrections data obtained by lawyers for inmates — and until recently, the department’s public hotline warned families that the wait could be as long as 90 days.
In most other states and cities, prisoners and parolees marked for immediate release are typically processed within hours — not days — although those times can vary, particularly if officials must make arrangements required to release registered sex offenders. But in Louisiana, the problem known as “overdetention” is endemic, often occurring without explanation, apology or compensation — an overlooked crisis in a state that imprisons a higher percentage of its residents than any other in most years.
While we're glad to see more light being shone on this disturbing and pervasive practice, we are reminded that this is one of the many front page issues on which PJI is dedicated to continuing to fight for justice -- and we will keep fighting until incarcerated Louisianans are released at the conclusion of their sentences rather than being held over unconstitutionally. Your financial support enables us to continue this vital work to make Louisiana’s criminal legal system more fair and just for all.