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Parole revoked for Vernon Parish releasee; board recommends psychiatric evaluation at DOC facility
Summary
The Louisiana Committee on Parole voted to revoke the parole of Miss Powell and recommended she be sent to a Department of Corrections facility for psychiatric evaluation and treatment after testimony about missed reporting requirements and recent psychiatric hospitalization.
The Committee on Parole revoked the parole of Miss Powell after hearing testimony that she failed to report to probation and parole after a February release and had been hospitalized at Longleaf psychiatric facility.
The decision came at a Tuesday hearing in Baton Rouge. Steve Prater, acting chairman of the Committee on Parole, and board members Pete Freeman and Chuck Tillis presided. Pete Freeman said he would “vote to revoke, but recommend that you be sent to a DOC facility for a psychiatric evaluation and follow any recommended treatment.”
The panel read three violations: failure to report to set up intake after a Feb. 11 release, failure to complete a phone intake, and an arrest for simple assault that resulted in a guilty plea and a 60-day sentence (credit for time served) in the Thirtieth Judicial District Court in Vernon Parish. Miss Powell told the board she did not report immediately after release because she could not leave the facility without someone with ID to sign her out and because she had been hospitalized and later transferred to Longleaf, a psychiatric hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana.
An attorney appointed to represent Miss Powell described prior psychiatric treatment, saying she was sent to Longleaf after behavior that led to certification for psychiatric care and that she remained at Longleaf about a week. The attorney said Miss Powell had mental-health issues that factored into the events leading to the arrest. During questioning, Miss Powell acknowledged being at Longleaf, having been given medications there and then being booked into the parish jail.
After a brief executive session, the three-member panel voted in favor of revocation. Freeman, Tillis and Prater all concurred with revocation; Freeman’s stated recommendation was that Miss Powell be transferred to a Department of Corrections facility for psychiatric evaluation and that she follow any recommended treatment.
The board recorded no additional sanctions beyond revocation and the recommendation for DOC evaluation. The panel noted the revocation is for a violent misdemeanor and therefore within their revocation practice. The hearing concluded with the board instructing staff to request transfer to a DOC facility for evaluation and care.
