HLS 21RS-3064 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 89
BY REPRESENTATIVE MARCELLE
CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES: Requests a study of the health and safety conditions of
Louisiana prisons and jails
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request Voice of the Experienced, Loyola University New Orleans College of
3 Law, Louisiana Stop Solitary Confinement Coalition, and the Lyndon B. Johnson
4 School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin to study and review
5 models for oversight, transparency, and accountability adopted in other states and
6 provide recommendations through a report of its findings to the Legislature of
7 Louisiana no later than February 1, 2022.
8 WHEREAS, the Legislature of Louisiana entered into a bipartisan justice
9reinvestment process, as advanced by the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, that resulted in
10legislation to decrease Louisiana's prison population and to end Louisiana's title as the state
11with the highest incarceration rates in the country; and
12 WHEREAS, Louisiana still has the highest incarceration rate in the country, with
13around thirty thousand individuals in state prisons; and
14 WHEREAS, approximately one-half of the individuals committed to the custody of
15the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to serve a judicially ordered sentence
16actually serve time in a local jail instead of a state prison; and
17 WHEREAS, Louisiana is relatively unique because one-half of the sentenced
18population are housed in local jails, which has a disparate impact on women since the
19flooding of the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in 2016; and
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HCR NO. 89
1 WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Louisiana
2prohibit "cruel and unusual punishment", which includes requirements for the provision of
3adequate safety and health-related services for every incarcerated person; and
4 WHEREAS, there are no statewide transparency or accountability initiatives to
5assure the public that conditions of confinement meet constitutional standards; and
6 WHEREAS, conditions of confinement can meaningfully impact recidivism and
7relationships between incarcerated individuals and their families and communities; and
8 WHEREAS, other states have made efforts to improve the conditions in their prisons
9and jails; and
10 WHEREAS, Louisiana should strive to enact statewide standards to ensure the
11conditions in the prisons and jails serve the public interest, meet national and constitutional
12standards, and are subject to meaningful oversight, transparency, and accountability; and
13 WHEREAS, Voice of the Experienced is a Louisiana membership organization by
14and for persons who are directly impacted by the criminal justice system, including
15incarcerated persons and their family members, persons under community supervision, and
16persons living with the lifetime impacts of criminal convictions; and
17 WHEREAS, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law is a Louisiana
18university committed to public service and holds the only public database of deaths in
19Louisiana carceral facilities; and
20 WHEREAS, Louisiana Stop Solitary Confinement Coalition represents more than
21one dozen organizations seeking an end to the practice of solitary confinement in Louisiana
22prisons and jails; and
23 WHEREAS, the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of
24Texas at Austin is one of the preeminent public affairs schools in the United States and has
25comprehensively studied the issue of conditions in prisons and jails nationwide.
26 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
27urge and request Voice of the Experienced, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law,
28Louisiana Stop Solitary Confinement Coalition, and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public
29Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin to assess existing non-mandatory standards and
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HCR NO. 89
1provide recommendations on mandatory standards for Louisiana prisons and jails, including
2methods of accountability and enforcement.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Voice of the Experienced, Loyola University
4New Orleans College of Law, Louisiana Stop Solitary Confinement Coalition, and the
5Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin assess
6standards that are applied to distinct populations, including inmates housed in Department
7of Public Safety and Corrections facilities, Department of Public Safety and Corrections
8inmates housed in parish jails, and pretrial detainees held in parish jails.
9 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Voice of the Experienced, Loyola University
10New Orleans College of Law, Louisiana Stop Solitary Confinement Coalition, and the
11Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin assess
12health and safety conditions in Louisiana prisons and jails, and make recommendations to
13improve health and safety conditions in Louisiana prisons and jails.
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Voice of the Experienced, Loyola University
15New Orleans College of Law, Louisiana Stop Solitary Confinement Coalition, and the
16Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin specifically
17review models for oversight, transparency, and accountability adopted in other states and
18provide recommendations for a statewide oversight, transparency, and accountability model
19for Louisiana prisons and jails.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Voice of the Experienced, Loyola University
21New Orleans College of Law, Louisiana Stop Solitary Confinement Coalition, and the
22Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin may work
23with and receive information from various stakeholders in the criminal justice system,
24including representatives of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, the Louisiana
25Sheriffs' Association, and the Louisiana Department of Health.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Voice of the Experienced, Loyola University
27New Orleans College of Law, Louisiana Stop Solitary Confinement Coalition, and the
28Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin may also
29study relevant case law and best practices to better understand other approaches to
30state-based standards and oversight.
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HCR NO. 89
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Voice of the Experienced, Loyola University
2New Orleans College of Law, Louisiana Stop Solitary Confinement Coalition, and the
3Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin report their
4findings to the Louisiana Legislature no later than February 1, 2022.
5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
6executive director of Voice of the Experienced, the dean of the Loyola University New
7Orleans College of Law, the executive director of Louisiana Stop Solitary Confinement
8Coalition, and the dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University
9of Texas at Austin.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that one print copy and one electronic copy of any
11report produced pursuant to this Resolution be submitted to the David R. Poynter Legislative
12Research Library as required by R.S. 24:772.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 89 Original 2021 Regular Session Marcelle
Requests the Voice of the Experienced, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, La.
Stop Solitary Confinement Coalition, and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
at the University of Texas at Austin to study and review models for oversight, transparency,
and accountability adopted in other states and provide recommendations through a report of
their findings to the Legislature no later than Feb. 1, 2022.
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