By Allan Lengel
The Justice Department is suing the State of Louisiana and Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, alleging that inmates were detained for weeks and months after fully completing their prison sentences — a violation of the 14th Amendment.
The DOJ said in a press release that the lawsuit is the result of a multi-year investigation into allegations of “systemic overdetention.”
“Every person in the United States, whether incarcerated or otherwise, enjoys certain fundamental rights,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a statement. “Foremost among them is the right to individual liberty. The Founders were keenly aware of the potential abuse of power when government can arbitrarily take away a person’s freedom without a lawful court order specifying the period of their confinement.”
The suit, filed last week, seeks injunctive relief to remedy deficient conditions identified by the department’s investigation.
“While the State has made marginal efforts to address the systemic deficiencies leading to overdetention, these steps are inadequate to address the deficiencies, which are longstanding and well-known to the State,” the press release says.
