New Orleans – Facing accusations of a conflict of interest, the parish district prosecutor of Orleans, Jason Williams 10 men escape from a New Orleans prison Earlier this month.
Governor Jeff Landry ordered an investigation into the Jailbreak several days after the inmates escaped on May 16. Williams initially had described investigation as a “joint effort” with Attorney General Liz Murrill and toured the prison with her as part of the investigation.
The Sheriff of the Parish of Orleans, Susan Hutson, accused the role of Williams in the investigation as “promoted by personal spirit and the political campaign,” according to a presentation of the court in early this week reviewed by Associated Press. Williams denied these accusations.
Earlier this year, Williams supported his employee Michelle Woodfork to replace Huts as Sheriff in 2026. Woodfork declined to comment.
In a statement, Williams said that the motion of challenge had not been granted because “there were no legal reasons to support it.”
Judge Nandi Campbell, who received the motion of challenge, declined to comment.
Williams and Hutson dispute the timeline and reasons for their investigation withdrawal.
Williams said he retired due to his “multi-jurisdictional nature”, citing a Separate jailbreak that occurred earlier this month In another parish of Louisiana, and has deferred to Murrill.
Williams said his office dedicated himself to investigation “to ensure that they did not miss or compromise” after the break.
He criticized Hutson for not “immediately” to request an “independent forensic processing” of the installation, where the inmates had opened a cell door and dragged through a hole cut behind a toilet. The authorities have arrested a maintenance worker for supposedly helping In the escape.
“It is difficult not to see this agency as more than committed until the bad actors have been identified and unarmed,” Williams said about the Sheriff’s office.
At a press conference on May 16, Hutson said he believed that Jailbreak’s time could have been politically motivated.
The Hutson challenge motion says that Williams’s investigation had given an “unfair advantage for his favorite candidate” and would be a “tension” in the resources of the Sheriff’s office.
Hutson’s accusations against Williams occur after local and state officials are criticized for Hutson’s management and the delay of his office schedule to notify the escape authorities. While Hutson has tried to blame for the lack of funds to help make urgent improvements to Defective crazy And the infrastructure of the sick prison, the leaders of the city and the State have generally disputed this characterization.
Murrill said in a statement on Thursday that he directs the investigation to provide “responsibility” and “recommendations” to the State and the city “to ensure that an escape like this never happens again.”
Hutson said that “he welcomes the supervision of the Office of the Attorney General and remains completely committed to cooperation with all relevant authorities.”
The parish prison system of Orleans, Long plagued with dysfunctionHe has been under federal supervision since 2013.
___
Brook is a member of Associated Press’s body/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America It is a non -profit national service program that places journalists in local writing rooms to inform about undercover issues.
