Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson and Chief Financial Officer Bianka Brown were indicted on April 29 following an extensive grand jury investigation into a large-scale jail escape at the Orleans Justice Center last spring. The special grand jury, convened at the request of Attorney General Liz Murrill, returned 30 felony counts against Hutson and 20 felony counts against Brown.
The indictments are part of efforts to hold officials accountable after what has been described as one of the largest jailbreaks in national history. “Nearly a year ago, I made a commitment to the people of New Orleans and the people of our state that those responsible for the Orleans Parish Prison break would be held accountable. Since that day, through the hard work of my office, along with the Louisiana State Police and our many federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, every escapee is behind bars, and others who facilitated and enabled the escape are currently being prosecuted. While Sheriff Hutson did not personally open the doors of the jail for the escapees, her refusal to comply with basic legal requirements and to take even minimal precautions in the discharge of her duties directly contributed to and enabled the escape. As my prosecutors move forward with this case, I continue to have productive conversations with Sheriff-elect Michelle Woodfork on how to improve operations, secure the facility, and build in basic financial oversight that complies with state law. I am confident in her commitment to implement the difficult changes needed to reform the jail,” said Attorney General Liz Murrill.
Hutson faces charges including malfeasance in office (counts 1-14), conspiracy related offenses (counts 15-18; counts 22-24; counts 28-30), filing or maintaining false public records (counts 19-21), obstruction of justice (counts 25-27), among others. Her bond was set at $300,000 by a judge.
Brown was indicted on similar charges: malfeasance in office (counts 31-34), conspiracy related offenses (counts 35-38; counts 42-44; counts 48-50), filing or maintaining false public records (counts 39-41), obstruction of justice (counts 45-47). Her bond was set at $200,000.
Both Hutson and Brown must surrender their passports and are prohibited from leaving Louisiana while awaiting further proceedings.
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