Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pretrial Home Incarceration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate committee backs Caddo Parish pilot to house some pretrial defendants at home under monitoring
Summary
A bill authorizing a Caddo Parish pretrial home-incarceration pilot using electronic monitoring and risk assessments passed Judiciary C after sheriff and chiefs described severe jail overcrowding and supporters asked for amendments on immunity and oversight.
Representative Jackson presented HB 159 to the committee as a narrowly written pilot to allow nonviolent, non-***-offense pretrial detainees in Caddo Parish to be supervised in the community with electronic monitoring, court approval and risk assessment.
Sheriff Henry Whitehorn testified that the parish jail holds roughly 1,600 inmates in a facility designed for about 1,070 and that 1,309 of the housed individuals were pretrial detainees. He described the bill as a structured alternative to reduce overcrowding while maintaining bail obligations and court oversight. Chief Joshua Williams explained the monitoring framework, reporting requirements for monitoring companies and the sheriff's authority to terminate a participant for noncompliance.
Supporters flagged the inclusion of behavior-health check-ins and formal evaluation and annual reporting provisions. Witness Jill Dennis of the Association of Supervised Ankle Monitoring Providers urged careful oversight and said immunity language in the bill should exclude malfeasance or gross negligence. Committee members directed staff to craft technical amendments to clarify immunity and reporting; the panel reported the bill with amendments.
