A Louisiana sheriff is facing serious criminal charges after a state investigation revealed her mismanagement led to a dramatic escape of 10 inmates from a New Orleans detention facility.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson was hit with a 30-count indictment Wednesday by a grand jury, facing charges of malfeasance, obstruction of justice, and falsifying public records. While prosecutors say Hutson didn’t directly assist in the escape, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill determined that inadequate jail oversight made the breakout possible.
“While Sheriff Hutson did not personally open the doors of the jail for the escapees, her refusal to comply with basic legal requirements and to take even minimal precautions in the discharge of her duties directly contributed to and enabled the escape,” Murrill said in a statement.
The dramatic escape involved inmates crawling through an opening they created behind a restroom toilet, then climbing over razor wire fencing to freedom. Adding insult to injury, the escapees left behind mocking graffiti reading “To Easy LoL” at the scene. Perhaps most troubling, jail staff failed to discover the missing prisoners for more than seven hours.
Hutson has been ordered to surrender her passport and remain within state boundaries, with bail set at $300,000. The sheriff’s office chief financial officer, Bianka Brown, also faces 20 similar charges in connection with the incident.
Following the breakout, Hutson drew criticism for her delayed notification to law enforcement and for initially suggesting political enemies orchestrated the escape without offering proof. She also pointed to defective door locks and inadequate funding for facility improvements as contributing factors.
The Orleans Parish detention system has struggled with violence, corruption, and operational failures for years, prompting federal supervision beginning in 2013. Despite significant financial investment and a new facility opening in 2015, federal monitors had previously flagged concerns about insufficient staffing, poor oversight, and increasing incidents of “internal escapes” in the years preceding this major breakout.
All escapees were eventually recaptured after an extensive manhunt. Hutson, who lost her bid for reelection, is scheduled to step down from her position Monday.
Neither Hutson nor Brown immediately responded to requests for comment, and court documents did not identify personal attorneys for either defendant.
