Louisiana moves closer to final passage of tough-on-crime bills that could overhaul justice system

By SARA CLINE
Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana, a state grappling with one of the highest rates of incarceration and violent crime in the country, is on the cusp of overhauling parts of its criminal justice system as the state’s GOP-dominated legislature barrels ahead with a package of bills — ranging from expanding death row execution methods, charging 17-year-olds as adults and eliminating the opportunity of parole for most jailed in the future. In the coming days, legislators will continue debate, and likely take a final vote, on bills that if passed would scale back or completely reverse historic bipartisan reforms passed in 2017 that aimed to reduce the state’s prison population.