Orleans Parish Prison

Orleans Parish Prison is the city jail for New Orleans, Louisiana. Opened in 1989, it is operated by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. Most of the prisoners—1,300 of the 1,500 or so as of June 2016—are awaiting trial.[4]

New Orleans City Prison
Inmates in an Orleans Parish Prison yard
LocationNew Orleans, Louisiana
Coordinates29.9612046°N 90.0952397°W / 29.9612046; -90.0952397
StatusOperational
Capacity1,438[1]
Population1,524[2] (as of June 2016)
Opened1989
Managed byOrleans Parish Sheriff's Office[3]
WardenCaptain Chaz Ruiz[3]
Street address2800 Perdido St
CityNew Orleans
CountyOrleans Parish
State/provinceLouisiana
ZIP Code70119
CountryUnited States
WebsiteOrleans Parish Sheriff’s Office
Notable prisoners
Troy E. Brown

In May 2013, Orleans Parish Prison ranked as one of the ten worst prisons in the United States, based on reporting in Mother Jones magazine.[5]

Abandonment during Hurricane Katrina

On August 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina–an extremely destructive and deadly category 5 hurricane–struck the Gulf Coast, the staff of Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office abandoned the jail leaving roughly 650 prisoners in their cells with no access to food, water, or ventilation for days.[6] Deputies returned to the Orleans Parish Prison days later and began evacuating inmates to surrounding areas which included the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, the I-10 overpass, and the Broad Street overpass.[7][8]

In over 400 testimonials conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union, prisoners described their experiences during the abandonment which included exposure to floodwater and other elements, hunger, beatings by jail staff and other inmates, and other racially charged abuse by jail staff.[9] While there is no official death count for prisoners that were left behind, 517 prisoners were later registered as "unaccounted for" by Humans Rights Watch.[10][11][12]

Refurbishment

The Federal Emergency Management Agency dedicated $223 million to the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office for restoration of its facilities following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.[13] The Sheriff's Office has outlined three phases of construction that would utilize these funds.

Phase I

The Phase I facility is a three-story, 163,885 square foot (15,225.4 m2) building consisting of a kitchen and warehouse.[14]

Phase II

Opened in 2015,[15] Phase II contains 1,438 beds and cost $145 million to construct.[1]

Phase III

The Sheriff’s office plans to build an additional 750-bed facility.[16] The Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition opposes the plan,[17] calling on Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office to "oppose any options involving the expansion of the jail," and instead support "retrofitting of the current jail to better care for incarcerated special populations."[18]

Inmate deaths since Katrina

Between April 2006 and April 2014, The Times-Picayune reports 44 inmate deaths,[19] including seven "uncounted" deaths,[20] referring to inmates released shortly before their deaths. Since the report, there have been five additional fatalities,[21] bringing the total to 49 since April 2006.

Notable inmates

The 10 to 12 adult women onboard the Golden Venture vessel from China that washed ashore in the Rockaways in New York City in June 1993 were kept at Orleans Parish Prison for a few years.[22]

On November 29, 2015, state Senator Troy E. Brown of Ascension Parish was booked in the Orleans Parish Prison for domestic abuse battery, a misdemeanor stemming from an incident with his alleged long-term paramour, a woman from Labadieville, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel near the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.[23]

References
  1. Jonathan Bullington (2015-09-14). "First inmates arrive at Orleans Parish new jail facility". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  2. "Average daily number of inmates in the Orleans Parish Prison (1006)". City of New Orleans Open Data.
  3. "Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office". Facilities.
  4. "Number of pre-trial detainees in Orleans Parish Prison (1007)". City of New Orleans Open Data. 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  5. James Ridgeway; Jean Casella (2013-05-06). "America's 10 Worst Prisons: NOLA". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  6. "New Orleans: Prisoners Abandoned to Floodwaters". Human Rights Watch. 2005-09-21. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  7. "Hurricane Katrina Was a Nightmare for Inmates in New Orleans". Vice. 2015-08-29. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  8. "ACLU Report Details Horrors Suffered by Orleans Parish Prisoners in Wake of Hurricane Katrina". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  9. "Summaries of 400 Testimonials From Inmates Incarcerated at Orleans Parish Prison During Hurricane Katrina". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  10. Michaels, Fergus. "New Orleans prisoners left to drown after Katrina struck". Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  11. Pages, The Society. "The Fate of Prisoners during Hurricane Katrina - Sociological Images". thesocietypages.org. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  12. Goodman, Amy (2005-09-27). "Left to Die in a New Orleans Prison". AlterNet. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  13. "FEMA Funds New Admin Building for Orleans Criminal Sheriff's Office". FEMA.gov. "Federal Emergency Management Agency". 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  14. "Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office Breaks Ground on New Kitchen/Warehouse Facility". Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office. 2010-03-02. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  15. Kelsey Davis (2015-09-15). "Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office completes inmate transfer to new facility". WDSU News. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  16. "Criminal Justice Committee to Hold Special Meeting to Address Issues Surrounding Orleans Parish Prison". New Orleans City Council. 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  17. Laura McKnight (2016-11-16). "Group opposed to jail expansion invites officials, public to meeting". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  18. Adina Marx-Arpadi (2016-11-16). "Open Letter to Mayor Landrieu re: Opposition to Jail Expansion". Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  19. Naomi Martin and Richard A. Webster (2014-10-07). "Dying at OPP: 44 inmates dead in 9 years". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  20. Naomi Martin (2014-10-14). "Inmate deaths sometimes go uncounted at Orleans Parish Prison". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  21. Adina Marx-Arpadi (2016-10-28). "DEATHS IN OPP ~ 2009 to present". Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  22. Law, Victoria, "Recommended Reading: Reports," Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women (Oakland, CA: PM Press, 2009), p. 198
  23. David J. Mitchell and Jim Mustian. "Police: State Sen. Troy Brown arrested, accused of punching girlfriend in face Saturday night at New Orleans hotel". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
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