Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Governor John Bel Edwards doubled down on keeping the Bridge City Center for Youth open and housing youthful offenders.
“With all that we know and all that has happened it is clear to me that we cannot continue to operate Bridge City as we have,” Edwards said, seeming to
He did say there would be draw down of inmates to a new juvenile offender facility at the State Penitentiary in Angola.
“Now while we’re not going to close Bridge City, we are working to significantly reduce the number of juveniles that will be placed there as early as next month and as soon as possible,” Edwards said. “We will temporarily move some, but not all of those youths to a separate and isolated location at the Louisiana State Penitentiary.”
Edwards says the facility is a former women’s detention and intake facility near the administration building which is being renovated to hold the influx of youthful offenders, but they will have no connection or contact with adults at the State Penitentiary in any way.
