See List of Inmates Released Early 2 Years Ago

On November 1st, 2017, hundreds of inmates were released from jails across Louisiana as part of Governor John Bel Edwards' criminal justice reform plan.

Part of the change is saving the state money in the Corrections budget by reducing the prison population.

A large part of the money saved as part of the "Justice Reinvestment Act" was to be used to implement programs to prevent crime and to help criminals become more productive citizens. But we have not seen any of those programs implemented in our region.

Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator says since that mass release, the state continues to routinely release inmates early. He says inmates now only serve about 35% of their sentences.

We published that list of inmates released 2 years ago and it generated lots of anxiety around the state.

Take a look at the list:

But we have been wondering how many of these offenders have committed new crimes. No one has details on whether or not they have been tracked.

Caddo and Bossier Parish criminal court convictions accounted for nearly 200 of the inmates freed during the first wave. Lawmakers and the Governor say the focus of these reforms was to release non-violent offenders.

But KEEL News checked on some of these inmates to see if they have reoffended and wanted to know if any of the crimes have been violent. We did learn Jacarlos Sullivan is currently locked up at the Caddo Correctional Center on a charge of aggravated battery which indeed is a violent offense.

Another man on the list has a history of violence and he has continued his criminal ways. In fact, Cordell Clay Jr.  was arrested in early October of this year for domestic abuse battery and resisting an officer. He is now awaiting trial. He also has a lengthy criminal past. He has served time in the past for armed robbery, aggravated battery and resisting an officer.  A DOC spokesman tells KEEL News Clay was not released in that early wave because there was a detainer on him for outstanding charges.

If you want to search to see if any of these inmates from your area are currently locked up, CLICK HERE.

Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator joins us Friday morning to talk about what has changed since the reform efforts were put in place and hundreds of inmates were released.