Days after 10 men escaped from the Orleans Parish jail, Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order on Wednesday, initiating a wide-ranging examination of the state’s criminal justice system.
Landry said in his executive order that “this incident reflects a systemic and deeply troubling breakdown in leadership, security protocol, and operational oversight within the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office.”
The order directs Attorney General Liz Murrill to lead an investigation into not just the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility , but also district courts in at least six parishes, and even the rulings of individual judges.
Landry also instructed the Department of Corrections to conduct a full audit of the Orleans jail to make sure the facility is following basic guidelines, and to move all DOC inmates to state-run facilities.
The jail was over capacity by about 150 inmates at the time of the escapes, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said in a recent press conference.
Another part of the order tasks the state’s Judiciary Commission with reviewing the performance of judges in “high crime areas,” specifically naming Orleans, Jefferson, East Baton Rouge, Ouachita, Rapides, and Caddo parishes as examples. Judges are to be examined for “failure to move cases in a timely manner,” having high rates of acquittals, or failing to revoke probation from people with violations.
The Judiciary Commission has authority to recommend that judges be disciplined by the Louisiana Supreme Court. A 2024 constitutional amendment, which Landry supported, added five political appointees to the commission, boosting its membership by more than a third, and removing the judiciary’s former exclusive control over appointments.
The order also directs courts to take action against lawyers who delay legal processes without valid reasons.
The Metropolitan Crime Commission has also been asked to develop a system to track criminal cases from arrest through conviction.
Landry has blamed the jailbreak on what he calls progressive criminal justice leaders and policies.
“New Orleans willingly handed the jail keys to those leaders who vowed to keep criminals OUT of jail. Sadly, it worked,” Landry said in a press release. “However, the State will not sit idly by. We are taking immediate, decisive action to ensure that this never happens again.”
Authorities said the men were able to escape by pulling a cell door off its tracks and climbing through a hole behind a toilet. Surveillance video showed them leaving the jail through a loading dock before they ran across a highway.
Five escapees—Corey Boyd, Gary Price, Kendall Myles, Robert Moody and Dkenan Dennis—have already been captured. The other five—Leo Tate, Jermaine Donald, Derrick Groves, Lenton Vanburen, and Antoine Massey—remain at large. Over 200 local, state, and federal officers are involved in the manhunt.
The sheriff’s office said three staff members have been suspended without pay. A 33-year-old maintenance worker at the jail was arrested. Authorities said he admitted to shutting off the water in the cell before the men escaped.
Two others accused of helping the men were arrested by Louisiana State Police on Wednesday and charged as accessories after the fact.
Sheriff Susan Hutson, who has faced criticism over her office's handling of the incident, has temporarily suspended her reelection campaign amid the fallout.
