“(T)he right to individual liberty includes the right to be released from incarceration on time after the term set by the court has ended," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement announcing the suit.
"To incarcerate people indefinitely ... not only intrudes on individual liberty, but also erodes public confidence in the fair and just application of our laws.”
In a joint statement provided to The Associated Press, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and state Attorney General Liz Murrill blamed the problem on the “failed criminal justice reforms” advanced by “the past administration.”
“This past year, we have taken significant action to keep Louisianans safe and ensure those who commit the crime, also do the time,” the statement reads. “The State of Louisiana is committed to preserving the constitutional rights of Louisiana citizens.”
The Republican state officials also characterized the effort as a last-ditch lawsuit by outgoing President Joe Biden, reasoning that the incoming administration of Donald Trump would not have allowed the case to be filed.
Advocates have repeatedly challenged the conditions in Louisiana's prison system, which includes the country's largest maximum-security prison, known as Angola, where incarcerated individuals toil under the blazing sun picking vegetables by hand at what was once a slave plantation.
___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.