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Committee rejects motion to advance Moore bill extending parole consideration for some pre-1973 lifers
Summary
Representative Pat Moores HB 967 would let offenders convicted of offenses committed on or before 07/02/1973 seek parole consideration regardless of whether they pleaded guilty. Supporters, including family members, urged parity; prosecutors and law-enforcement leaders opposed the change. A motion to move the bill failed on a 3-8 roll call.
Representative Pat Moore told the Criminal Justice Committee HB 967 seeks to permit elderly prisoners convicted of crimes before July 2, 1973 to be eligible for parole consideration regardless of whether they pleaded guilty. "This simply gives the parole board the opportunity to review a small group of elderly people for parole consideration; it does not guarantee release," Moore said.
The committee heard heartfelt testimony from family members. Deborah Robinson Dixon described her husbands decades of educational and ministry work inside Angola and urged the panel to allow him the opportunity to be considered by the parole board: "This bill isn't about forgetting the past. It's about honoring transformation," she said.
Opponents, including representatives of prosecutors and sheriffs, urged caution. Zach Daniels of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and Kevin Cobb of the Louisiana Sheriffs Association noted that many of the remaining individuals were convicted at trial of violent offenses and that the bill would not change victims' rights. "For people who went to trial and were convicted, the record does not indicate inducements that would entitle them to a different procedural pathway," Daniels said.
The committee debated factual and legal history, including which offenders had pleaded guilty under the historical "10 years, 6 months" practice and which were convicted at trial. Department of Public Safety Secretary Gary Westcott confirmed roughly a dozen individuals remain in custody under the pre-1973 category and noted stakeholders had reached the committee with differing views.
When Representative Knox moved to advance the bill, an objection led to a roll call. The motion failed 3 yeas to 8 nays. The committee minutes record the vote and the bill did not advance at that time.
