Louisiana Legislative bodies have been recently blamed for failing to reform the state criminal justice systems.
A closer examination of this systems calls for a much needed reform. Again and again, commenters highlight the prison system’s lack of ability to lower crime rates, the damaged caused to convicts and their family by exaggerated imprisonment rates and the high costs of maintaining overcrowded jails
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According to various estimates, the average maintenance cost of prison facilities for states across the nation is around 50 billion dollars per year, and therefore states are doing their best to allow for shortening incarceration time especially regarding convicts with less serious offenses.
Louisiana has tried to follow suit but not enough according to critics. The 2011 Bill 59 made it easier for prisoners to earn early release if they behaved well in the course of their imprisonment time. House Bill 152 followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling and abolished the possibility for life without parole sentence for minors.
However, much criticism is heard against the state’s legislators for not continuing this blessed legislative initiative during 2013 session. One noteworthy example is the failure to pass House Bill 103 that calls for lighter punishment for repeated marijuana offenses.
It now becomes evident that Louisiana’s legislators can no longer let the status quo remain as it is today and more radical steps will have to be taken throughout 2014.