Shifting violent juvenile offenders from Bridge City to Angola appears to be on hold for the time being.
Governor John Bel Edwards was asked about it at the Avondale Shipyard rechristening by WWL-TV.
The Governor responded, “There’s certain things at the facility itself that remain in the works and then we also have to make sure we have housing for a certain number of the staff.”
The aim is to move two-dozen, or about half the inmates, to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola where a former womens prison area is being renovated to accept them.
Bridge City has been very trouble plagued, seeing upwards of two-dozen escapes since April 2021.
A July escape resulted in a man being shot while carjacked in Uptown New Orleans.
The offender was eventually chased down and caught after crashing the stolen vehicle.
State Senator Pat Connick has sounded off about the move saying the delay is alright with him.
“Moving these juveniles to Angola is an important step in taking back control of our juvenile justice system and I think everyone knows the urgency of the situation. With that said, I have no problem giving the Office of Juvenile Justice the additional time they need to ensure the facility is ready and properly staffed prior to any transfer taking place.”
Governor Edwards did say the timetable for the transfer of inmates to Angola is now up in the air.
“I don’t have a date certain, but it is obviously, given the passage of time since we made the announcement, we’re much, much closer and I expect it’s going to be done sometime between now and the end of the year, for sure.”
Office of Juvenile Justice, Nicolette Gordon told WWL-TV: “For security reasons, no specific information about the timeframe of the transfers will be released at this time,” Gordon said. “However, OJJ will advise the media when the first group of youth is safely at the West Feliciana temporary facility.”
