Louisiana lawmakers, pushed by a newly elected state leader, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, rushed through a special criminal-justice session last month. Bills lengthen some sentences, limit access to parole, prosecute any arrested 17-year-old as an adult, and allowed methods of execution beyond lethal injection — intended to help the state re-start executions, The New York Times reports.
Landry, who took office in January, and his supporters argue that the new stringent measures are necessary to crack down on violence and crime, which soared in parts of the state during the pandemic. But in a state known for being the nation's prison capital for years, critics contend that the new laws not only undo a successful criminal-justice overhaul from 2017. The new laws, critics contend resurrect flawed policies of the past that will again punish people of color disproportionately, obliterate hope and pathways to rehabilitation for prisoners, and foist a staggering cost onto taxpayers.