Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has taken to social media to blast Mayor Helena Moreno and the New Orleans City Council for agreeing to pay a $2.5 million settlement to a man who spent 39 years in prison for murder.
The Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office asked a court to vacate the conviction after he learned prosecutors who worked the case decades ago failed to turn over evidence to the defense. The man, Raymond Flanks, then filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the district attorney's office, which a judge dismissed following the city's approval of the settlement.
District Attorney Jason Williams later said the civil rights division of his office overstepped its bounds by agreeing to vacate the case. Despite this, Landry also lambasted Williams in his post.
"Amidst an ongoing budget crisis in New Orleans, it is disturbing to see the City, Helena Moreno, and NOLA City Council agree to pay $2.5 million to a man convicted of murder, then released by DA Jason Williams, who now admits he should have never released him," Landry wrote on Facebook. "And they expect the State taxpayers to keep footing this bill! NO!"
LA Politics dot com publisher Jeremy Alford says this is the latest political play for Landry, a governor he says isn't afraid to wade into New Orleans's affairs.
"I can't imagine anyone is particularly surprised by Jeff Landry's latest comments," Alford said. "My mind immediately goes to the timing of this statement."
According to Alford, Landry may have tipped his hand with regard to his legislative priorities for the upcoming regular session, which begins on March 9. Alford believes Landry is signaling that he will push lawmakers to pass new tough-on-crime legislation.
"I think everyone's wondering: what's next? Where does this all lead? To me, in terms of the timing, it leads to the regular session," Alford said. "How that manifests, whether it's a hearing or legislation, we'll have to wait and see, but I don't think we've heard the last of this topic."
Alford says Landry very well might seek a bill that addresses cases in which prosecutors use their discretion to vacate charges years after a conviction.
"There's already been legislative hearings on this very topic, at least thematically, and I think we could see something filed in the regular session on it," Alford said. "I think that we have not heard the last of this topic. We have not heard the last of this theme, and the next big stage for that will be the regular session."
Alford says Landry's statement is part of a political game he's playing with city leaders, especially in light of remarks Mayor Moreno made about her willingness to work with the governor.
"Mayor Moreno is a very smart woman," Alford said. "She has offered some very positive commentary over the last few weeks on looking forward to working with Jeff Landry."
WWL has reached out to Mayor Moreno's office for comment about Landry's post and has not yet heard back.