2 minute read January 25, 2023 5:56 PM EST Last Updated 2 days ago

U.S. finds Louisiana deliberately kept inmates past release date

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The Justice Department found Louisiana violated the U.S. Constitution by confining people in its custody past the dates when they were legally entitled to be released, adding state authorities were "deliberately indifferent to the systemic overdetention."

"There is reasonable cause to believe that the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections (LDOC) routinely confines people in its custody past the dates when they are legally entitled to be released from custody, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment," the Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Justice Department said it concluded that the LDOC denies individuals' due process rights to timely release from incarceration.

"LDOC is deliberately indifferent to the systemic overdetention of people in its custody," the Justice Department concluded.

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