BATON ROUGE -- The Louisiana House of Representatives today voted 62-30 to approve HB 195, a bill that would rollback probation reform adopted last year as part of the justice reinvestment package.
The following statement is by Sarah Omojola, policy counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center, a member of Louisianans for Prison Alternatives:
“The Louisiana House of Representatives today abandoned a key component of the data-driven reforms to the criminal justice system passed last year and approved legislation that will cost taxpayers more money. HB 195 will result in increased workloads for overburdened probation officers and may result in thousands of additional probation hearings, while keeping many Louisianans unnecessarily incarcerated. This rollback flies in the face of the will of the people – 85 percent of Louisiana voters support shorter probation terms for people who follow the rules. If lawmakers want to reduce the prison population and save taxpayers more than $262 million, they need to keep last year’s laws in place and continue to work on data-driven criminal justice reforms that improve public safety.”
The following statement is by Jane Johnson, interim executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, a member of Louisianans for Prison Alternatives:
“Today the Louisiana House broke its promise to the people of Louisiana by voting to undermine sensible, evidence-based reforms that are making our state safer and stronger. Instead of helping Louisiana shed its title as prison capital of the world, some legislators are trying to undo these reforms and go back to a broken system that failed and didn’t keep us safe. Today’s vote is a betrayal and a wakeup call: the criminal justice reform package is under attack, and it’s up to all of us to defend it. The Louisiana Senate should stand with the people of Louisiana and reject House Bill 195.”
