A federal judge has denied a motion by Louisiana children’s rights groups to block the state Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) and Gov. John Bel Edwards from housing juvenile offenders at Angola State Penitentiary.
Judge Shelly Dick of the Middle District of Florida turned down the motion by Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children, the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights and the ACLU of Louisiana on Sept. 23. Dick acknowledged that the proposition of housing juveniles as young as 12 in a cell block that once housed death row inmates was difficult to defend but concluded that some of the youths posed significant safety risks.
“A small handful of youth have wreaked havoc, endangering themselves, other youths, OJJ staff and members of the general public,” Dick said in her opinion. “... While locking children in cells at night at Angola is untenable, the threat of harm these youngsters present to themselves, and others, is intolerable. The untenable must yield to the intolerable.”
The relocation plans for about 25 juveniles came in the wake of riots, escapes and violence at OJJ facilities.
The plaintiffs noted that the youths could not be transferred until medical and mental health services were in place at the Angola facility, as well as proper staffing and educational, nutritional and recreational services. But they strongly disagreed with Dick’s opinion.
“The judge’s decision to uphold Gov. Edwards and the Office of Juvenile Justice’s unlawful plan to transfer youth to Angola will cause irrevocable harm and trauma,” Gina Womack, executive director of Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children, said in a statement emailed to the Louisiana Record. “Locking children behind the bars of an adult prison instead of addressing the longstanding history of systemic abuse, mistreatment and racism within OJJ is unconscionable.”
Plaintiffs also expressed concerns that the juveniles affected may be held in solitary confinement, be subject to excessive force or denied their right to an education.
A joint statement from the plaintiffs’ litigation team indicates that they are now reviewing their legal options and next steps.