An Act of Regression: Louisiana takes a giant step backward in parole and sentencing reform

Louisiana lawmakers are eliminating discretionary parole and implementing regressive truth-in-sentencing laws. These billion-dollar “zombie policies” are set to double the prison population in a state that is already a world leader in incarceration and will harm public safety.

by Emmett Sanders, August 21, 2024

With the passage of HB 9, Louisiana recently became the 17th state since 1976 — and the first in nearly a quarter of a century — to eliminate discretionary parole as a pathway for releasing people from its prisons. Simultaneously, the state began implementing HB 10, one of the harshest truth-in-sentencing laws in the country. These were among a host of other so-called “tough on crime” bills that were signed by Louisiana’s new governor, and will affect nearly everyone sentenced in the state after August 1, 2024. Together, this package of regressive bills will set prison and sentencing reform back decades in the state: although lawmakers have framed them as “public safety” measures, these laws will have the opposite effect, doubling the prison population, compelling billions of dollars in new prison construction, and drastically escalating violence and trauma for incarcerated people and prison staff in the state.

Louisiana’s moves are remarkably out of touch, coming at a time when many states are engaging in genuine efforts to reform sentencing and parole, including expanding release through discretionary parole for all or some part of their prison populations. Since the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama, which found that judges must consider age and maturity when imposing life without parole sentences, 28 states and Washington D.C. have eliminated juvenile life without parole, with states like Minnesota implementing new juvenile parole review boards. Meanwhile, at least 46 states and Washington D.C. have established either medical parole, geriatric parole, or both, creating new release pathways for the elderly and chronically infirmed. Even in states where discretionary parole has long been abolished, such as Illinois, Virginia, and Maine, there have been strong pushes to see it restored. Louisiana itself had been slowly moving in the right direction, having seen an almost 30% reduction in its prison population over the past twelve years largely thanks to previous sentencing reforms that have driven down the number of people entering prisons. Now, however, Louisiana is reversing a decade of progress under the cover of false narratives.

Louisiana’s parole system was bad, but it was better than nothing

Louisiana is already a world leader in incarceration. The Pelican State holds the dubious distinction of having the highest incarceration rate in the United States, and is second only to El Salvador for the highest incarceration rate among the world’s independent democracies.¹

Their parole system, which earned an “F” in our 2019 report grading parole systems across the country, is partially to blame: In 2023, the board held only 790 hearings, and granted only 387 people parole. Discretionary parole hearings declined 52% from 2019 to 2022 — a period of time which also saw a staggering 59% drop in the number of people released via discretionary parole, and a 15% reduction in parole grant rates. In short, fewer and fewer people were already being released from prison in Louisiana, and those with violent crimes were already serving 25% more time in 2022 than they were in 2018. Nevertheless, discretionary parole remained a ray of hope for many in Louisiana’s prisons. Now, that meager but meaningful release mechanism will be available to far fewer people.

Keeping people in prison longer harms public safety, rather than helping it

Proponents of “tough on crime” bills like HB 9 and HB 10 often depict them as efforts to improve public safety. However, their arguments that more time in prison leads to more public safety are not only misleading, they are costly and dangerous.

Louisiana’s historical and projected prison population, 2012-2034.

According to estimates from the Crime and Justice Institute, HB 9 and 10 are poised to almost double Louisiana’s prison population by 2034. HB 10 alone will double the number of people convicted of non-violent crimes in Louisiana’s prisons and triple the state’s prison budget. The resulting growth in prison populations will almost certainly require new prison construction, which could come at a price tag of $2 billion.

These costs represent billions of dollars that could be spent on actually-effective means of improving public safety, like investments in better community-based violence interruption, crisis response, and youth programs. The ACLU of Louisiana has noted that savings generated by the state’s decarceral reforms over the past decade were successfully reinvested in innovative programs that prevented recidivism. As Louisiana lawmakers should know by now, communities are safest when the state invests money in proven violence solutions, not harsh sentences.

In addition, overcrowded prisons are dangerous prisons for those who are incarcerated as well as prison staff. Overcrowding is often cited as a primary reason for chronic severe understaffing in prisons and jails because it creates deadly conditions for staff and incarcerated people alike. Studies abound that show overcrowding and understaffing are associated with high levels of prison violence. To make matters worse, taking away discretionary parole and the ability to earn good conduct credits inside crowded prisons only adds fuel to the fire by eliminating a major incentive for people in prisons to engage in programming, avoid confrontations, and adhere to prison rules, all of which improve safety for those who are incarcerated, their families, and the communities to which they return. Indeed, another state has experimented with similar law changes to Louisiana’s, with disastrous results: Tennessee’s decision to implement truth-in-sentencing laws lead to numerous riots in the state’s prisons. Given that at least 95% of people confined in state prisons will eventually be released, subjecting them to increased violence and doubling down on trauma — rather than addressing it — ensures that these experiences will follow people home.

Conclusion

Ultimately, abolishing discretionary parole and imposing truth-in-sentencing in Louisiana is a backward move that essentially guarantees the state will remain one of the worst incarcerators in the world for years to come. Politicians who are truly concerned about public safety should focus on making sure that people in prison have access to programming, education, and the resources they need to make a successful transition into society as soon as possible, and that communities are well-supported to help them once they get out, rather than spending billions of dollars to ensure that incarceration is as long and as traumatic an experience as possible.