A new law that will treat all 17-year-olds charged with crimes as adults has sparked disagreement between Baton Rouge officials about whether the teens should be moved to the parish prison or remain in the beleaguered juvenile jail.

Seventeen-year-old offenders have been funneled into the juvenile justice system since a law known as "Raise the Age" was passed in 2019. But some Louisiana Republicans have identified the law as a contributing factor in a spike of violent juvenile crime following the COVID-19 pandemic. Before Raise the Age, 17-year-olds were sent to the adult system regardless of the severity of the crime. 

A bill to undo the 2019 law, authored by state Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, was presented as a way to crack down on juvenile crime. But critics said harsher punishments would do little to prevent crimes from occurring and would disproportionately impact Black youth, who make up a larger share of the prison population. 

Gov. Jeff Landry signed the legislation into law in March as Act No. 13, and it goes into effect Friday, April 19.

In a faxed letter sent to Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and Metro Council members Tuesday, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux asserts the parish prison is unable to house 17-year-olds.

According to Gautreaux, under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, the prison does not meet the minimum national standards for housing 17-year-old offenders. The act, which was established to prevent and eliminate sexual assault and rape in correctional systems, requires "youthful inmates" — any person younger than 18 — be housed completely separate from adult inmates.

"The East Baton Rouge Parish Prison in its current state cannot safely and securely house these youthful offenders," Gautreaux says in the letter.

Gautreaux argues in his letter that repealing Raise the Age has no effect on PREA requirements.

"Even if Louisiana reverts to considering 17-year-olds 'adults' for their criminal actions, once confined in a jail or prison, those 17-year-olds are still considered 'youthful inmates' under the PREA and are to receive the housing requirements for youthful inmates."

Broome responded the same day with a letter of her own, disputing Gautreaux's claims. 

"We are no longer able to house within our juvenile detention facility 17-year-olds currently being tried as adults and being held within our juvenile detention facility, or 17-year-olds arrested and criminally charged as of April 19, 2024 or later. These 17-year-olds are now considered adults under the law," the letter reads. 

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An undated picture of the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison included in a letter Sheriff Sid Gautreaux sent to Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and Metro Council members Tuesday. 

In her letter, Broome says her office has been cooperating with an East Baton Rouge Parish Prison warden to ensure a particular unit in the prison is suitable. Her staff is also looking into other short- and medium-term options, including temporary buildings and housing, retrofitting other buildings and determining costs and timelines for construction and assembly. 

Still, she says, none of these will be an available option by Friday.

Gautreaux says the parish is responsible for the physical maintenance of the prison, including addressing its "significant structural deficiencies."

He included multiple photos in his letter to illustrate problems within the prison, including plumbing issues that have resulted in flooding, broken toilets and showers, rusted and broken doors, windows and bars and daily inability to control the temperature of air and water. Large portions of the facility were shut down due to the "extreme level of deterioration," Gautreaux writes.

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An undated picture of the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison included in a letter Sheriff Sid Gautreaux sent to Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and Metro Council members Tuesday. 

The Baton Rouge Juvenile Detention Center has also been a subject of controversy in the past, with critics calling for change following numerous inmate escapes and riots.

In November 2023, two 17-year-olds accused of murder were able to escape the facility because a switchboard that was supposed to tell staff when doors were unlocked had malfunctioned, according to a report of the incident by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.

One of the teens had broken out 11 days earlier with another 17-year-old after another juvenile broke through a cell door. Police found both at a Baton Rouge house more than 24 hours later.

In 2022, eight teenagers at the facility escaped their cells and engaged in a two-hour melee that left three hospitalized and multiple windows and doors smashed. A year earlier, five boys attacked multiple staff members during a jailbreak.

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The Baton Rouge juvenile jail, seen Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La.

City leaders and criminal justice officials say the escapes and violence stem from a bigger issue: an aging facility continuing to decay as an increasing number of 17- and 18-year-old offenders with more serious charges are brought in.

As of April 4, the Baton Rouge Police Department had arrested seven juveniles for homicide in 2024, according to data from Mayor’s Office spokesperson Mark Armstrong.

Nine juveniles were arrested for homicide for the entire year of 2023, Baton Rouge Police Chief Thomas Morse Jr. said at a March news conference.

"There is no disagreement between the Sheriff and I that we need a new parish prison long-term, and my office is working diligently to develop and share practical options for that plan in the coming weeks," Broome said in a statement to The Advocate. "Our City-Parish team continues to work closely today with our Sheriff’s team at the parish prison to ready the housing necessary to meet Friday’s challenge."

Email Gabby Jimenez at gabby.jimenez@theadvocate.com.

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