Louisiana’s prison system routinely holds people weeks and months after they have completed their sentences, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged in a lawsuit filed Friday. The suit against the state of Louisiana follows a multiyear investigation into what federal officials say is a pattern of “systemic overdetention” that violates inmates’ rights and costs taxpayers millions of dollars a year.
DOJ alleges that since at least 2012, more than a quarter of the people due to be released from Louisiana prisons have instead been held past their release dates. DOJ warned Louisiana officials last year that the state could face a lawsuit if it didn't fix the problems, but lawyers for the department say the state's “marginal efforts” to address the issues were “inadequate” and showed a "deliberate indifference" to the constitutional rights of incarcerated individuals.
“(T)he right to individual liberty includes the right to be released from incarceration on time after the term set by the court has ended," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement announcing the suit.
"To incarcerate people indefinitely ... not only intrudes on individual liberty, but also erodes public confidence in the fair and just application of our laws.”
In a joint statement provided to The Associated Press, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and state Attorney General Liz Murrill blamed the problem on the “failed criminal justice reforms” advanced by “the past administration.”
“This past year, we have taken significant action to keep Louisianans safe and ensure those who commit the crime, also do the time,” the statement reads. “The State of Louisiana is committed to preserving the constitutional rights of Louisiana citizens.”
The Republican state officials also characterized the effort as a last-ditch lawsuit by outgoing President Joe Biden, reasoning that the incoming administration of Donald Trump would not have allowed the case to be filed.
Advocates have repeatedly challenged the conditions in Louisiana's prison system, which includes the country's largest maximum-security prison, known as Angola, where incarcerated individuals toil under the blazing sun picking vegetables by hand at what was once a slave plantation.
FILE - The sun shines through concertina wire on a fence at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., April 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistan Cricket Board has chosen the United Arab Emirates as a neutral venue to host India’s games at next year's Champions Trophy following a standoff between the two rivals.
India had refused to travel to tournament host Pakistan for the eight-team, 50-over Champions Trophy, amid its security concerns.
Under a hybrid model, the International Cricket Council confirmed on Thursday that all of India’s games will be at a neutral venue, including if the team reaches the semifinals and final.
“UAE was finalized as the venue after PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met with the Emirates Cricket Board chairman Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan," PCB spokesman Amir Mir said in a statement on Sunday.
Mir said the PCB has “informed the ICC” about the selection.
The PCB statement did not confirm where the games would take place in the UAE, with Dubai considered the likeliest venue.
Pakistan will not play in India in ICC events in the 2024-27 cycle. Pakistan will also go to a neutral venue when India hosts the 2025 Women’s World Cup and co-hosts the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka.
India has three group-stage games in the 2025 Champions Trophy, including one against Pakistan. Depending on India's progress at the tournament, the UAE will also host one of the semifinals and the final.
The latest statement paves the way for the ICC to announce the schedule of the February-March tournament in the coming days.
Political tensions between Pakistan and India have prevented their teams from touring each other’s country since 2012, when Pakistan went to India for a bilateral one-day international series.
Both teams face each other regularly in ICC tournaments — Pakistan went to India last year for the men’s World Cup. But before the World Cup, India refused to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup and played all of its games in Sri Lanka.
Defending champion Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Australia, England, South Africa and Afghanistan are the participating teams in the 2025 edition.
The PCB has spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi, and it hopes the work will be completed by mid-January. Pakistan is scheduled to host a minimum of 10 games at the three venues.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Pakistan's Saim Ayub raises his bat and hemet after reaching his century during the third International cricket match between South Africa and Pakistan, at the Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
