OVERDETENTION
Lisa Andres
“They can’t keep getting away with this.”
Lisa Andres had spent over six months in jail, finally finishing all of the sentencing and paperwork required for her release on July 7, 2025. The jail was a dangerous and unsanitary place: the water ran brown; she had to collect and filter it before drinking, or even showering with it. Drugs circulated freely inside the jail, and fights constantly broke out.
Lisa had served her time and now it was time for her to come home.
July 7th came and went. Then July 8th. Lisa was stuck and still not home where she belonged. Lisa called her parole officer, she called her lawyer, and her mom. Nothing seemed to work.
July turned to August.
By this point, Lisa had missed her mother’s 79th birthday while the drugs, fights, and filthy water persisted all around her. She should have been freed long ago. Lisa used her free calls in jail to reach out to her parole officer, calling her as often as she could, trying to understand what was happening.
August became September. Lisa’s attorney was frantically emailing anybody she could to try to get Lisa out. Lisa continued to do what she could from jail. Nobody in the jail — neither guards nor incarcerated people — believed her when she said she should be free.
Lisa’s parole officer ended up blocking her number.
September turned to October. Lisa had no answers as to why she was still being held illegally. By the time that Lisa was finally released in October 2025, the DOC had kept her locked up illegally for 101 days beyond her time served.
The jail’s reason? Paperwork.
The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections (“DOC”) considers these delays—and this illegal imprisonment—to be “just the nature” of how they release people from jail.
Lisa was one of over 90 people who were released that month after being illegally incarcerated.
“It’s obvious that nobody in DOC actually cares about this issue. When I would tell them that I was not supposed to be in prison, everybody treated me like I was crazy.”
Jaren Brignac
Jaren Brignac was in jail for nearly 11 months when he pleaded to charges in court on June 18, 2025. Because he was given credit for time served, Jaren should have been immediately released.
While incarcerated for nearly a year, Jaren was exposed to unhealthy and unsafe conditions, including being stabbed. He had to endure broken and mold-infested showers throughout his time jailed and was simply ready to go home.
Jaren was not released on June 18th; he was not released on June 19th.
He had served his time, and there was no legal reason for the DOC to hold him any longer.
Like Lisa, Jaren was confused at the delay. Jail employees rarely responded to him when he asked why he was still there. When they did “look into it”, he would get answers like “the computer is not updating” or simply “I don’t know.”
Jaren needlessly suffered in jail – and was involved in another physical altercation – wondering why he could not be freed and go home to be with his family.
The DOC finally released Jaren over a week after his plea. Jaren was among 70 other people released in June 2025 that the DOC had held illegally.
“Jail is a terrible place to be. It is ridiculous that they allow people to stay there for so long after they should be out.”
New Lawsuit Challenges Louisiana’s Illegal Incarceration Practice
Estimates based on DOC provided data. True rates may differ.
The stories of Lisa and Jaren are common within DOC’s facilities. In fact, the Louisiana DOC illegally imprisons thousands of people annually by holding them days, weeks, and even months — after their legal release dates.
The practice violates the Constitution and is also wasteful. This illegal practice of detention costs Louisiana taxpayers over $1 million a year in housing costs alone, based on data generated by DOC.
In 2020 and 2021, The Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI), along with Most & Associates and Loevy & Loevy, filed two class action lawsuits against the State of Louisiana to stop its illegal practice of imprisonment, often called “overdetention”.
Over the past seven years since filing, the problem remains.
On August 27, 2026, PJI, Most & Associates, and Loevy & Loevy, filed a new class action lawsuit, Andres v. Westcott, against the Louisiana DOC through its chief executive Secretary Gary Westcott on behalf of Lisa and Jaren.
The new filing asks the court to hold the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections accountable for individuals who were overdetained beginning August 29, 2024.
This case builds on years of litigation, research, and evidence collection led by PJI, and highlights how, despite a change in leadership at the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, people continue to be illegally detained in alarming numbers, being exposed to dehumanizing conditions in addition to missing special moments with family members, losing their jobs, housing, and missing educational opportunities.