Parole granted to Shaka James with Parole Project placement and strict conditions
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Summary
The board voted to grant parole to Shaka James, a juvenile-lifer serving a life-based sentence, conditioned on enrollment in the Louisiana Parole Project and requirements including AA/NA attendance, substance-abuse treatment and a stay-away order for Rapides Parish.
The Committee on Parole granted parole Nov. 4 to Shaka James (DOC 409338), a juvenile-lifer who has served roughly 30 years, after hearing extensive support from the Louisiana Parole Project, family members and State Police personnel.
State Police and local staff described James as an outstanding mechanic and trustee with a clean disciplinary record at the barracks. Parole Project representatives said James would enter residential reentry and receive at least one year of case management, life-skills training and employment support; family members also spoke in favor.
The Rapides Parish district attorney opposed early release, arguing that James was a ringleader in the original offense and describing events that led to the victim’s death. The board heard DA remarks but cited James’s institutional record, program completion and Parole Project placement in voting to grant parole.
The panel imposed conditions including weekly AA/NA attendance, outpatient substance-abuse treatment, a curfew (10 p.m.–6 a.m., modifiable for work), and a minimum one-year enrollment in the Parole Project. Commissioners also recommended James avoid returning to Rapides Parish after release.
The board directed supervising staff to enforce the conditions and monitor compliance; the DA’s opposition and public-safety concerns were recorded on the hearing transcript.
