By Elyse Carmosino
The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.
IBERVILLE PARISH, La. — Alabama will no longer house Louisiana’s juvenile offenders after a group of Louisiana teens caused a riot at one of that state’s correctional facilities, said Louisiana 18th Judicial District Iberville District Attorney Tony Clayton, whose district encompasses Iberville, Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge parishes.
The decision, which was announced Wednesday, left Louisiana officials scrambling to find somewhere else to place the young offenders, an unknown number of whom were released from Alabama facilities the same day.
Although it was not immediately clear where the incident took place, how many juveniles were involved or where they’ll be relocated, Clayton said the uprising was just the latest in a string of issues involving teens at out-of-state facilities.
Due to a lack of in-state housing, Louisiana has long sent its youngest offenders to neighboring states to serve their sentences. Clayton’s own district does not have a juvenile jail.
The district attorney has been vocal in the past about his opposition to the practice, which he described Wednesday as “borderline unconstitutional.”
He said the situation highlights a dire need for new in-state facilities.
“This is an emergency,” Clayton said. “You have juveniles who committed murders. What do we do? Put them back on the street?”
He added: “This is not fair to the citizens of the state of Louisiana.”
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