Latest news with #SusanHutson
Associated Press
2 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
New Orleans DA pulls out of jailbreak investigation amid conflict of interest allegation
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Facing allegations of a conflict of interest, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams removed himself this week from a Louisiana Attorney General-led investigation into the massive jailbreak that saw 10 men escape a New Orleans jail earlier this month. Gov. Jeff Landry ordered an investigation into the jailbreak several days after the inmates escaped on May 16. Williams had initially described the inquiry as a 'joint effort' with the Attorney General Liz Murrill and toured the jail with her as part of the probe. Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson accused Williams' role in the investigation as being 'fueled by personal animus and political campaigning' according to a court filing earlier this week reviewed by The Associated Press. Williams denied these allegations. Earlier this year, Williams endorsed his employee Michelle Woodfork to replace Hutson as sheriff in 2026. Woodfork declined to comment. In a statement, Williams said the recusal motion had not been granted because there were 'no legal grounds to support it.' Judge Nandi Campbell, who received the motion for recusal, declined to comment. Williams and Hutson dispute the timeline and reasons for his withdrawal from the investigation. Williams said he removed himself due to its 'multi-jurisdictional nature' — citing a separate jailbreak that occurred earlier this month in another Louisiana parish — and has deferred to Murrill. Williams said his office engaged in the investigation 'to ensure that no evidence was lost or compromised' after the breakout. He criticized Hutson for not 'immediately' requesting an 'independent forensic processing' of the facility, where inmates had yanked open a cell door and crawled through a hole cut from behind a toilet. Authorities have arrested a maintenance worker for allegedly aiding in the escape. 'It's hard not to see this agency as anything but compromised until any bad actors have been identified and rooted out,' Williams said of the sheriff's office. At a press conference the day of the escape on May 16, Hutson said that she believed the timing of the jailbreak may have been politically motivated. Hutson's motion for recusal says that Williams' investigation had given an 'unfair advantage to his preferred candidate' and would be a 'strain' on the resources of the sheriff's office. Hutson's allegations against Williams come after local and state officials heaped criticism on Hutson's management of the jail and her office's hourslong delay in notifying authorities of the escape. While Hutson has sought to blame the escape on a lack of funding to help make urgent improvements to faulty locks and ailing jail infrastructure, city and state leaders have generally disputed this characterization. Murrill said in a Thursday statement that she is heading the investigation to provide 'accountability' and 'recommendations' to the state and the city 'to ensure that an escape like this never happens again.' Hutson said that she 'welcomes the oversight of the Attorney General's Office and remains fully committed to cooperating with all relevant authorities.' The Orleans Parish jail system, long plagued by dysfunction, has been under federal oversight since 2013. ___ 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.
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Orleans Parish DA says sheriff's office 'compromised' amid lawsuit, jailbreak investigation
The district attorney in New Orleans fired back at the local sheriff who sought his recusal from the investigation into a massive 10-man escape from the county's jail, escalating a two-week war of words between the two. After Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, whose department runs the jail, filed a lawsuit seeking to bar Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams from investigating the jailbreak, Williams made clear his thoughts on the sheriff. "After this jailbreak, jail leadership should have immediately requested an independent forensic processing of that scene," he said Thursday evening in a media release. "It's hard not to see this agency as anything but compromised until any bad actors have been identified and rooted out." "The Sheriff's Office's time and resources were clearly misspent this week, and once again, this office finds itself two steps behind the moment," the release continued. "We, along with our other law enforcement partners, will remain focused on the crisis at hand: recapturing every individual involved in this escape, understanding the systemic failures or individual actions that made it possible, and implementing meaningful corrective measures." Hutson filed a motion in a New Orleans court after what she called "ongoing attacks" on the sheriff's office in "an unprecedented display of political self-serving bias," according to ABC News. The sheriff noted that Williams is also backing her opponent in an upcoming reelection bid to remain the parish's top cop. Last week, Hutson suspended campaign operations to focus on the breakout. The matter was settled out of court on Thursday in a meeting with Orleans Parish Criminal Judge Nandi Campbell. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill's office will continue to lead the investigation into how the men, including a four-time killer and a serial escapee, broke out of their cell and hopped the jail's barbed-wire fence to freedom on May 16. "I will continue to conduct an independent investigation into how the ten violent inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center on Friday, May 16," Murrill said in an X post on Thursday night, adding that she will provide recommendations to relevant government entities to ensure such an escape never occurs again. Friday marks two weeks since 10 inmates escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans. Two inmates, including a four-time convicted killer, are still on the loose after the jailbreak. Derrick Groves was convicted in October of a double-homicide stemming from a shooting during Mardi Gras in 2018. After his conviction, he pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in unrelated cases and was scheduled to be sentenced in July. He was being held in the jail until his sentencing. Antoine Massey, a four-time escapee known locally for consistently evading law enforcement, also remains free. On Thursday, Crime Stoppers and the FBI both increased their rewards for information leading to the arrests of the pair. Each man now has a $50,000 bounty on his head. The eight other escapees have been caught as local, state and federal law enforcement continue to pour resources into ending the manhunt for good. Fourteen people have been arrested for assisting the escapees either before or after they broke out. Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Hutson, Williams, Murrill and the New Orleans Criminal District Court for comment.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
OPSO sheriff requests removal of District Attorney from escape investigation
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson issued a motion Thursday, May 29, requesting Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams be recused from the investigation into the Orleans Justice Center escape. The DA office officials said in the days immediately following the escape, their offices exercised it's 'constitutional authority' to initiate an investigation and to issue preservation directives for critical evidence. They say the steps were necessary to ensure key material was not lost by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. Man arrested, accused of hitting police vehicles in St. Claude area 'We received the Sheriff's motion seeking to have the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office recused from this investigation. However, the sheriff's effort was untimely and meritless. This is yet another example of the sheriff being two steps behind the moment. After the forensic processing of the crime scene and prior to the Sheriff's motion, our office had already engaged the Attorney General to lead the investigation into any criminal culpability of the sheriff and its employees. Orleans Parish District Attorney On May 16, OPSO officials alerted the public of the escape of 10 inmates who were able to leave the facility through a hole cut in a cell wall behind a toilet. Since then, eight of the escapees have been recaptured and 14 people were arrested for aiding. Man arrested, accused of buying hotel room for Orleans Parish Jail escapee in Baton Rouge The search remains ongoing for Antoine Massey and Derrick Groves. 'Attorney General Murrill initiated a criminal investigation at the jail on Friday, May 16, which is underway. Last week, after issuing certain demands to the Sheriff, the District Attorney determined it to be proper to step aside from handling any investigation or prosecution of matters related to the escape before the inmates went over the wall. The criminal investigation was and still is directed by the Attorney General. For that reason, the proceedings initiated by the District Attorney should be terminated.' – Attribute to me please Office of Attorney General Liz Murrill The OPDA officials said the motion was not granted and adds that there are no ground for recusal. The decision to refer the matter to the Attorney General's Office was due to 'possible multi-jurisdictional implications and potential for statewide examination of jailbreak protocols.'Trump's Qatar jet deal not finalized even as Pentagon has taken possession Morehouse Parish investigator to not face charges in fatal 2024 officer-involved shooting Mexican man allegedly threatens Trump, vows to self-deport, DHS says Another dolphin confirmed dead at Florida marine park: 'These animals are suffering' 250,000 pounds Dinty Moore stew recalled over possible wood contamination Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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.
