Latest news with #OJC
The Independent
5 days ago
- General
- The Independent
New Orleans jail, site of a brazen inmate escape, faces flooding and plumbing failures
The New Orleans jail that gained national attention for a brazen escape by 10 inmates earlier this month is experiencing 'significant flooding' from 'ongoing and severe plumbing failures,' the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office says. Embattled Sheriff Susan Hutson and her deputies have portrayed the bold jailbreak — one of the largest in recent U.S. history — as the result of an ailing facility in dire need of repairs and improvements such as replacing faulty locks. State and local officials have generally disputed Hutson's characterization of the $150 million state-of-the-art facility built in 2015 and blamed the sheriff's leadership since taking office in 2022. The jail system has been under the oversight of a federal judge and the U.S. Justice Department since 2013. 'These recurring plumbing issues highlight a much deeper infrastructure crisis at OJC, rooted in years of deferred maintenance, chronic overcrowding, and a lack of meaningful investment,' Hutson said in statement Wednesday. 'This is not just a facilities problem. It's a public safety issue, a staffing issue, and most of all, a human dignity issue.' The sheriff's office renewed calls this week for 'immediate and sustained infrastructure investment,' saying jail flooding and other issues were both 'foreseeable and preventable.' It said it requires at least $13 million in urgent fixes and that requests for help have been made repeatedly to city officials. But New Orleans City Council members questioned management of the jail last week during a tense meeting and argued the sheriff's office requires greater transparency and accountability. The city's chief administrative officer also noted the department has received a larger proportionate increase in funding since 2019 than any other public safety agency in the city. The longstanding debate over how to improve the city's jail system persists as two inmates remain at large. The group of fugitives escaped in the early hours of May 16 by yanking open a jail door, removing a toilet and crawling through a hole in the wall where steel bars had been cut away, then hopping over barbed-wire fencing using blankets. Authorities say the inmates were able to escape because a maintenance worker, Sterling Williams, turned off the water in the cell after an inmate allegedly threatened to shank him. Williams' lawyer Michael Kennedy has said the plumber was not threatened and had only turned off the water after being told to do so by a deputy. Williams was unaware that the inmates intentionally clogged the toilet as part of an orchestrated plan to escape, Kennedy said. Authorities have made no mention of the cell having a clogged toilet. Over the weekend — in a seemingly unrelated incident — the jail received 'emergency repairs' as water pooled and the facility remains forced to rely on an 'external water supply" as of Wednesday, the sheriff's office said. Flooding in the jail has been exacerbated by inmates' 'misuse the plumbing system' such as flushing 'inappropriate items' down the toilet, the sheriff's office added. While the Orleans Justice Center is only a decade old, dysfunction has long plagued the city's jail system. ___
Associated Press
5 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
New Orleans jail, site of a brazen inmate escape, faces flooding and plumbing failures
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans jail that gained national attention for a brazen escape by 10 inmates earlier this month is experiencing 'significant flooding' from 'ongoing and severe plumbing failures,' the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office says. Embattled Sheriff Susan Hutson and her deputies have portrayed the bold jailbreak — one of the largest in recent U.S. history — as the result of an ailing facility in dire need of repairs and improvements such as replacing faulty locks . State and local officials have generally disputed Hutson's characterization of the $150 million state-of-the-art facility built in 2015 and blamed the sheriff's leadership since taking office in 2022. The jail system has been under the oversight of a federal judge and the U.S. Justice Department since 2013. 'These recurring plumbing issues highlight a much deeper infrastructure crisis at OJC, rooted in years of deferred maintenance, chronic overcrowding, and a lack of meaningful investment,' Hutson said in statement Wednesday. 'This is not just a facilities problem. It's a public safety issue, a staffing issue, and most of all, a human dignity issue.' The sheriff's office renewed calls this week for 'immediate and sustained infrastructure investment,' saying jail flooding and other issues were both 'foreseeable and preventable.' It said it requires at least $13 million in urgent fixes and that requests for help have been made repeatedly to city officials. But New Orleans City Council members questioned management of the jail last week during a tense meeting and argued the sheriff's office requires greater transparency and accountability. The city's chief administrative officer also noted the department has received a larger proportionate increase in funding since 2019 than any other public safety agency in the city. The longstanding debate over how to improve the city's jail system persists as two inmates remain at large . The group of fugitives escaped in the early hours of May 16 by yanking open a jail door, removing a toilet and crawling through a hole in the wall where steel bars had been cut away, then hopping over barbed-wire fencing using blankets. Authorities say the inmates were able to escape because a maintenance worker, Sterling Williams, turned off the water in the cell after an inmate allegedly threatened to shank him . Williams' lawyer Michael Kennedy has said the plumber was not threatened and had only turned off the water after being told to do so by a deputy. Williams was unaware that the inmates intentionally clogged the toilet as part of an orchestrated plan to escape, Kennedy said. Authorities have made no mention of the cell having a clogged toilet. Over the weekend — in a seemingly unrelated incident — the jail received 'emergency repairs' as water pooled and the facility remains forced to rely on an 'external water supply' as of Wednesday, the sheriff's office said. Flooding in the jail has been exacerbated by inmates' 'misuse the plumbing system' such as flushing 'inappropriate items' down the toilet, the sheriff's office added. While the Orleans Justice Center is only a decade old, dysfunction has long plagued the city's jail system. ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
CNN
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
New Orleans sheriff halts reelection campaign as five jail escapees remain at large
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who oversees the jail where 10 inmates escaped last week, announced Tuesday that she is suspending her reelection campaign, just hours after fielding tough questions from local leaders at a tense city council meeting. 'I am temporarily suspending my re-election campaign. I cannot spend a moment putting politics over your needs,' Hutson said in a statement posted on social media. The sheriff's announcement comes as her office faces increasing scrutiny over last week's jailbreak – and as half of the 10 escaped inmates remain at large. A fifth escapee was recaptured Tuesday. In her statement, Hutson pointed to the 'immediate action' her office took after the escape, 'including suspensions, an arrest, and full cooperation with the Attorney General's investigation.' But Hutson acknowledged 'a long road ahead of me to be fully satisfied that the OJC (Orleans Justice Center jail) and my deputies have the proper resources to perform their duties to the fullest extent the people of New Orleans deserve.' Hutson did not address when she may resume her reelection campaign. The primary for the sheriff's election is scheduled for early October. Hutson's campaign announcement followed a tense city council meeting earlier Tuesday where she faced questions about whether the jail's persistent problems stem from inadequate funding or poor management. Hutson told the council she takes 'full accountability' for the 'failure' but also pointed to the alleged involvement of jail staff. 'There were procedural failures. And missed notifications. But there were also intentional wrongdoings. This was a coordinated effort aided by individuals inside our own agency who made the choice to break the law. One arrest has been made, and we are continuing to pursue everyone involved and that investigation is active and ongoing,' the sheriff said. For nearly three hours during Tuesday's city council meeting, members pressed Hutson and her aides about what officials described as disorganized and fragmented communication with other law enforcement agencies in the critical hours after the escape. The sheriff and her aides acknowledged that some notifications to local law enforcement partners 'were missed.' Hutson added after the meeting that the jail was still operating with 'outdated surveillance, aging infrastructure, blind spots in supervision and critical staffing shortages.' 'These vulnerabilities have been raised repeatedly in our funding requests and now, the consequences are undeniable,' she said in a statement. The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections is deploying at least 10 seasoned auditors to the Orleans Justice Center this week to investigate the escape. The audit will 'concentrate on jail operations, such as overall jail security, jail staffing and jail policy and procedures,' Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Secretary Gary Westcott said in a news release Tuesday. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry tasked the department to audit the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, to ensure they were in compliance with 'conditions necessary to ensure the safe, efficient, effective and legal operation of a jail facility,' the release added. The last audit of the facility by the Department was in 2014, according to the agency. The arrested staff member Hutson referred to is Sterling Williams, a maintenance worker with the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. The Louisiana Attorney General's office announced the arrest Tuesday. Williams is accused of 'willfully and maliciously' assisting with the jailbreak, according to an affidavit. He faces one count of malfeasance in office and 10 counts of being a principal to simple escape. In an interview with Fox News, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill suggested that Williams's involvement extended beyond the night of the escape. 'We think that it was more than just that night,' she said. 'I can't really give all the details of times and dates, but we believe this person had multiple days of involvement.' An agent with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation described Williams as being initially 'evasive and untruthful' before providing information, according to the affidavit. The maintenance worker's bond was set at $1.1 million, $100,000 for each charge he is facing, Murrill said in a social media post. Williams was appointed a public defender, Michael Kennedy, who said he has not met with his client but is expected to do so Wednesday morning. Williams said inmate Antoine Massey threatened to shank him if he didn't turn off the water to the cell used in the breakout, according to the affidavit. If the water had still been on, 'the plan to escape would not have been successful and potentially flooded the cell, drawing attention to their actions,' according to the affidavit. Five of the 10 escaped inmates have been recaptured and are being held at Louisiana State Penitentiary, a maximum-security facility. The latest to be caught, Corey Boyd, 19, was arrested Tuesday, about five days after he and nine other men broke out of the Orleans Justice Center through a hole behind a metal toilet just after midnight Friday. The escapees face an array of charges including aggravated assault with a firearm, false imprisonment with a weapon and murder. The breakout has left New Orleans on high alert — with members of the district attorney's staff fleeing for their safety — and local and state officials investigating how an escape could have happened. All five inmates were arrested in New Orleans. Massey, the inmate who allegedly threatened the maintenance worker, is among the five still at large. More than five years ago, Massey also escaped from a detention center in North Louisiana, authorities said. 'It didn't surprise me, because (Massey) was known for that,' Morehouse Parish Sheriff's Office Chief James Mardis told CNN about learning that Massey had escaped once again. In 2019, Massey and another inmate broke out of the Morehouse Parish Detention Center in Collinston, before being recaptured in Lancaster, Texas, Mardis told CNN Tuesday. They cut through the wire of a chain link fence at the exercise yard of the facility and crawled under it in broad daylight back in August 2019, Mardis said. A vehicle with Texas tags was seen in the rural area and was believed to have picked up the men. Deputies and corrections officers were at the scene within minutes, but the men had gotten away, he said. The men were taken into custody that evening in Texas, the sheriff's office said at the time. Mardis said he was told of Massey's second escape on Monday, though the Louisiana State Police had called to ask about the inmate over the weekend, he said.
CNN
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
New Orleans sheriff halts reelection campaign as five jail escapees remain at large
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who oversees the jail where 10 inmates escaped last week, announced Tuesday that she is suspending her reelection campaign, just hours after fielding tough questions from local leaders at a tense city council meeting. 'I am temporarily suspending my re-election campaign. I cannot spend a moment putting politics over your needs,' Hutson said in a statement posted on social media. The sheriff's announcement comes as her office faces increasing scrutiny over last week's jailbreak – and as half of the 10 escaped inmates remain at large. A fifth escapee was recaptured Tuesday. In her statement, Hutson pointed to the 'immediate action' her office took after the escape, 'including suspensions, an arrest, and full cooperation with the Attorney General's investigation.' But Hutson acknowledged 'a long road ahead of me to be fully satisfied that the OJC (Orleans Justice Center jail) and my deputies have the proper resources to perform their duties to the fullest extent the people of New Orleans deserve.' Hutson did not address when she may resume her reelection campaign. The primary for the sheriff's election is scheduled for early October. Hutson's campaign announcement followed a tense city council meeting earlier Tuesday where she faced questions about whether the jail's persistent problems stem from inadequate funding or poor management. Hutson told the council she takes 'full accountability' for the 'failure' but also pointed to the alleged involvement of jail staff. 'There were procedural failures. And missed notifications. But there were also intentional wrongdoings. This was a coordinated effort aided by individuals inside our own agency who made the choice to break the law. One arrest has been made, and we are continuing to pursue everyone involved and that investigation is active and ongoing,' the sheriff said. For nearly three hours during Tuesday's city council meeting, members pressed Hutson and her aides about what officials described as disorganized and fragmented communication with other law enforcement agencies in the critical hours after the escape. The sheriff and her aides acknowledged that some notifications to local law enforcement partners 'were missed.' Hutson added after the meeting that the jail was still operating with 'outdated surveillance, aging infrastructure, blind spots in supervision and critical staffing shortages.' 'These vulnerabilities have been raised repeatedly in our funding requests and now, the consequences are undeniable,' she said in a statement. The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections is deploying at least 10 seasoned auditors to the Orleans Justice Center this week to investigate the escape. The audit will 'concentrate on jail operations, such as overall jail security, jail staffing and jail policy and procedures,' Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Secretary Gary Westcott said in a news release Tuesday. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry tasked the department to audit the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, to ensure they were in compliance with 'conditions necessary to ensure the safe, efficient, effective and legal operation of a jail facility,' the release added. The last audit of the facility by the Department was in 2014, according to the agency. The arrested staff member Hutson referred to is Sterling Williams, a maintenance worker with the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. The Louisiana Attorney General's office announced the arrest Tuesday. Williams is accused of 'willfully and maliciously' assisting with the jailbreak, according to an affidavit. He faces one count of malfeasance in office and 10 counts of being a principal to simple escape. In an interview with Fox News, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill suggested that Williams's involvement extended beyond the night of the escape. 'We think that it was more than just that night,' she said. 'I can't really give all the details of times and dates, but we believe this person had multiple days of involvement.' An agent with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation described Williams as being initially 'evasive and untruthful' before providing information, according to the affidavit. The maintenance worker's bond was set at $1.1 million, $100,000 for each charge he is facing, Murrill said in a social media post. Williams was appointed a public defender, Michael Kennedy, who said he has not met with his client but is expected to do so Wednesday morning. Williams said inmate Antoine Massey threatened to shank him if he didn't turn off the water to the cell used in the breakout, according to the affidavit. If the water had still been on, 'the plan to escape would not have been successful and potentially flooded the cell, drawing attention to their actions,' according to the affidavit. Five of the 10 escaped inmates have been recaptured and are being held at Louisiana State Penitentiary, a maximum-security facility. The latest to be caught, Corey Boyd, 19, was arrested Tuesday, about five days after he and nine other men broke out of the Orleans Justice Center through a hole behind a metal toilet just after midnight Friday. The escapees face an array of charges including aggravated assault with a firearm, false imprisonment with a weapon and murder. The breakout has left New Orleans on high alert — with members of the district attorney's staff fleeing for their safety — and local and state officials investigating how an escape could have happened. All five inmates were arrested in New Orleans. Massey, the inmate who allegedly threatened the maintenance worker, is among the five still at large. More than five years ago, Massey also escaped from a detention center in North Louisiana, authorities said. 'It didn't surprise me, because (Massey) was known for that,' Morehouse Parish Sheriff's Office Chief James Mardis told CNN about learning that Massey had escaped once again. In 2019, Massey and another inmate broke out of the Morehouse Parish Detention Center in Collinston, before being recaptured in Lancaster, Texas, Mardis told CNN Tuesday. They cut through the wire of a chain link fence at the exercise yard of the facility and crawled under it in broad daylight back in August 2019, Mardis said. A vehicle with Texas tags was seen in the rural area and was believed to have picked up the men. Deputies and corrections officers were at the scene within minutes, but the men had gotten away, he said. The men were taken into custody that evening in Texas, the sheriff's office said at the time. Mardis said he was told of Massey's second escape on Monday, though the Louisiana State Police had called to ask about the inmate over the weekend, he said.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson suspends re-election campaign
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson has announced that she is temporarily suspending her campaign for re-election. In a Facebook post, Hutson cited the current investigation into the prisoner escapes that occurred at Orleans Justice Center as her reasoning for the suspension. OPSO maintenance worker allegedly aided in prison break arrested 'I cannot spend a moment putting politics over your needs. Now is the time to focus on security, accountability, and public safety' Hutson said. Hutson also pointed out actions taken so far in the form of suspensions, an arrest and cooperation with the Attorney General's investigation as law enforcement still seeks to capture the remaining inmate captured following Orleans Justice Center escapes More info on criminal charges of remaining OJC escapees Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson suspends re-election campaign Loyola looks for consistent respect after historic tournament run, making first-ever NAIA World Series WATCH: UNO baseball preview Southland Conference Championship Series, first-ever appearance since joining the league in 2013 Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
