Baton Rouge, LA – As Louisiana’s second extraordinary legislative session begins, House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Matthew Willard issued the following statement:
“House Democrats are committed to addressing crime and making our communities safer. Unfortunately, we were not involved in drafting the call for the second special legislative session. The overwhelming majority of the bills filed for this special session fail to address crime before it happens. They are reactive, not proactive. These bills will not make our communities safer and they will disproportionately impact black people and poor people. And they will fill our prisons with non-violent offenders at an extraordinary cost to Louisiana taxpayers.
“House Democrats believe that more must be done to address the root causes of crime to make Louisiana safer. Data shows that investing in education, mental health services, and job training for at-risk communities reduces crime. Studies also support rehabilitation and reintegration programs for incarcerated people to lower recidivism. It’s frustrating that the narrow call for this session does not allow us to address these issues.
“We know the “lock them up and throw away the key” approach does not work because Louisiana ranks near the top in both crime and incarceration rates. Sadly, Governor Landry and the Republican-led legislature appear to be leading Louisiana in the wrong direction. In the past week we’ve learned that Governor Landry opted not to spend $3.5 million to receive more than $70 million to feed nearly 600,000 kids, but is eager to spend taxpayer dollars incarcerating people with no plans for reducing crime.
“House Democrats will continue to fight for evidence-based criminal justice reforms that reduce crime and make our communities safer.”
