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| High demand for Louisiana inmate re-entry program prompts tizzy in House committee |
| By nola.com- Emily Lane |
| Published: 03/21/2014 |
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A Louisiana House committee meeting briefly morphed into a game of "gimme" Thursday (March 20) when several lawmakers almost simultaneously realized they wanted in on a Re-entry Court program that would allow their districts to, according to one state representative, "save some money and save some lives." The program in question trains convicts while they're in prison to re-enter society by developing a trade like welding or auto mechanics. New Orleans judges Arthur Hunter and Laurie White helped start the program about five years ago, and since then two other districts, in East Baton Rouge and St. Tammany parishes, were authorized by Legislature to participate, though no inmates from East Baton Rouge have since been sentenced by a judge to take advantage, a Louisiana Department of Corrections official said. On the House Judiciary Committee docket Thursday were a trio of bills that made three more districts -- in Lafayette, Bossier and Jefferson parishes -- eligible. After a judge involved in the program gave testimony touting the program's success, his testimony backfired on him a bit when he was forced to disappoint other committee members who wanted a piece of it, too. Only certain nonviolent and non-sex offenders from the eligible districts can be picked for the program. Those sentenced and picked to participate must complete the program in 30 days at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, else they be given a 10-year sentence. But a limited number of slots in the program, which is paid for by the Department of Corrections, mean only a few districts have a chance to participate. Read More. |
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