Former Sheriff Susan Hutson entered a not guilty plea in a New Orleans courtroom today.
Hutson is accused of malfeasance, filing false public records, and obstruction of justice. Bianka Brown, who was the Orleans Sheriff's Office's Chief Financial Officer under Hutson, is also charged in the case.
Proceedings in Hutson's case had been on hold following the recusal of all twelve judges at Orleans Criminal Court for potential conflicts of interest. The state supreme court appointed retired criminal court judge Dennis Waldron to hear the case.
The criminal investigation that led to the indictment began last year, after ten inmates at the Orleans Justice Center escaped through a hole in a cell wall, made their way out via the jail's loading dock, and escaped into the pre-dawn hours.
Some of the escapees were apprehended within hours. Others made it weeks on the run and one, convicted murderer Derrick Groves, spent more than four months on the lam before finally being caught in Atlanta last October.
