Yvette Michelle Crabtree Davis
April 7, 2008
Cecile D. St. Amant
April 9, 2008
The Lafourche Parish Detention Center’s “state of emergency” is far from over; councilmen voted to form a committee to find funding to build a new facility or expand the existing jail.
Prior to last week’s meeting, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said the jail is a critical component to the proper functioning of the criminal justice system.
“Everyone in the judicial system has a vested interest in the jail,” he said. “The courts and the judges who sentence people cannot do their jobs without a parish jail. The district attorney’s office prosecutes people for convictions. The parish government provides general health, safety and welfare of its citizens and for them to fulfill their duties, a parish jail is needed.”
Five district judges urged local lawmakers to take action at last Tuesday’s Lafourche Parish Council meeting,
“We have a serious problem,” said 17th Judicial District Court Judge Jerome Barbera, who served as spokesman for the group. “Our jail is not up to par and we need to find a solution.”
The National Institute of Corrections ranks the parish detention center in the bottom 10 percent in the United States, according to Barbera.
Webre said the committee appointed to research the issue should include representatives from each facet of the parish government.
“A diverse group is necessary to draft an outline for the jail’s future,” the sheriff said.
The committee’s main duty will be to research what tax money can be moved from local government entities that are spending it unnecessarily or not at all. Those tax dollars then would be used to possibly build a new jail.
Councilman Daniel Lorraine, who has publicly said he would be the representative for the south end of the parish, said different boards in the parish should see if they could free up a portion of the property taxes they collect to be diverted toward a new jail.
“The problems comes in because nobody wants to cut their fund,” Lorraine said.
A new jail was originally estimated to cost $50 million, but now Parish President Charlotte Randolph said it could cost more.
“The parish will need about $4 million per year to pay for a new jail,” she said. “We definitely have to do something but a new facility would be too expensive. I would prefer exploring the option of finding a way to add on to the current facility. And, if that’s not feasible, then I would look at a new structure.”
The parish government allots $1 million annually for the maintenance of the detention center and inmate medical and housing expenses.
Webre operates the jail on a $3.4 million budget. He said the issue of a new jail is months away, and the committee should seek funds to solve the crowding problem in the meantime.
“Maybe we have to bus out more inmates or bring in temporary housing. Whatever it is, we need to do something,” he said. “We just can’t say we want a new jail, we have to plan for the future taking into account how many beds each section will hold and how much space we need for other things like recreation and feeding.”
“Once that has been established, then we can put a price tag on how much a new jail will cost,” he added.
The judges agreed that developing a committee is a step in the right direction, although, they did not publicly say to what extent the jail’s condition has affected their sentencing.
Webre said the parish jail holds the “worst of the worst” offenders.
“Parishwide, justices have been forced to impose lighter sentences to avoid adding more inmates to the overcrowded jail,” he said. “We don’t have low-risk criminals. All of them are still out on the street and that makes our problem way beyond a crisis.”
Built in 1976, the jail was designed to house 76 inmates. Today, the facility has been reconfigured to handle more than triple the load – 243 inmates.
The maximum-security jail is broken down into four sections, each holding a specific number of beds, according to Detention Center Warden Eddie Rodrigue. The medical wing has only 16 beds; the trustee dorm has 56; women’s block, 30; and the prison’s male-only wing, which makes up the majority, has 211 beds.
“We are filled to the rim every day. On average, 90 of the 340 parish inmates are housed out of parish at a cost of $25 a day,” Rodrigue said.
Virtually every realm of the antiquated 31-year-old facility is outdated or in need of repair, the warden said.
Last week, the inmate head count was 320 with 70 of the prisoners housed out of the parish at Lt. Sherman Walker Correctional Facility in St. John the Baptist Parish. Rodrigue said there were 41 women, eight of which are Department of Correction holdovers, and 209 men. Of the men, 13 were DOC holdovers. The trustee block had 31 inmates.
“We can’t survive another five years where we’re at now,” Rodrigue said. “The parish had surveyors comes in weeks ago and they basically told us that there is no use for this facility.”
As of last week, the committee exists in name only. Members will be likely chosen at the next council meeting on April 22.
Sheriff Craig Webre and district judges urged the council to begin looking for solutions to the jail’s crowding problems. * Photo by SOPHIA?RUFFIN
