ST. FRANCISVILLE- West Feliciana Parish District Attorney Sam D'Aquilla told WBRZ Monday a warden at Angola asked to have a convicted killer's sentence reduced, making him eligible for parole.

D'Aquilla referred all questions to Angola, but did not say the warden's name on the phone. The Department of Corrections immediately fired back with the following statement:

"Warden Darrell Vannoy did not request Hampton's release. The change in Clifford Hampton's 1961 conviction is a result of a motion filed by his attorneys. The Department of Public Safety and Corrections had no bearing on this change. The Department is not responsible for convicting or sentencing offenders, only enforcing the sentence handed down by the court. Clearly the judge, the district attorney, and the defense attorneys agreed the evidence in this crime aligned with the elements of manslaughter, and thus resentenced Hampton under this crime to 21 years. Like the District Attorney, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections and Louisiana State Penitentiary Warden Darrell Vannoy did not oppose the motion for the change," a spokesman said.

That revelation came to light Monday when the WBRZ Investigative Unit went looking for answers as to how a convicted killer with two life sentences managed to get a parole hearing where board members voted to set him free.

Clifford Hampton killed Bertha Ann Gibson after she refused to have sex with him when he was 17 years old. Changes to state law made him eligible for parole since the crime occurred when he was a juvenile. When Hampton was locked up at Angola, he killed again. An inmate named Camey Time was killed after Hampton said Time was telling lies about him.

"They are supplanting their judgment to the judgment of the courts and the entire judicial process," District Attorney Ricky Babin said last week.

Gibson was killed in St. James Parish, an area that Babin represents. Two years ago, Babin's office filed a motion to keep Hampton locked up. That did not work.

In August of 2018, an attorney out of New Orleans filed a motion to have Hampton's sentence vacated. It was unopposed and granted by Judge William Carmichael. D'Aquilla was present during that court hearing but referred all questions to Angola about it.

D'Aquilla acknowledged on the phone that vacating a sentence is very rare, and so did two other district attorneys who said that typically only happens if there was something gravely wrong with the prosecution.

Currently, the Department of Corrections is reviewing where Hampton will live before he is released.

"Is reducing the prison population the only driver of this thing?" Babin asked. "If that's the case, then just say it and be done with it."

BATON ROUGE- A man with two separate murder convictions was granted parole Thursday, causing outrage from the victim's family, prosecutors and law enforcement.

"I'm not sure what's getting read, processed or looked at," Ascension Parish District Attorney Ricky Babin said. "We were so shocked yesterday when they let this guy go I haven't even begun a damage assessment of how this happened."

Clifford Hampton killed 18-year-old Bertha Ann Gibson in 1958 after she refused to have sex with him. He stabbed Gibson 28 times. Hampton, who was 17-years-old at the time of the killing, was sent to Angola with a life sentence.

Three years later, Hampton killed inmate Camey Time for "telling lies about him." Prison paperwork indicates Hampton received another life sentence for that murder.

Babin's office appeared at the parole hearing for Hampton on Thursday to voice their concerns.

In 2017, new state laws permitted juvenile homicide offenders to become eligible for parole. The district attorney filed what's known in legal circles as a "worst of the worst motion" to keep Hampton locked up since his first conviction occurred while he was 17.

"Just because you are parole eligible doesn't mean you should walk out," Babin said. "He committed a second murder and that's been omitted, got a life sentence for that too. It's mind-boggling."

Hampton's prison record shows he's had decades of problems.

While he was in prison at Angola, he was convicted of a sex offense, got caught with three shanks rigged with nails and needles, and refused to take a sex offender treatment class.

"Part of the reason the parole board let him go is because they called him a model inmate," Babin said. "I don't understand how you can kill someone in prison and be a model inmate. I'd hate to see what those who aren't model inmates are doing in there."

As Babin begins to digest what the parole board did, he's urging the public to be alert and speak up.

"If you disagree with this kind of thing, if you think someone can kill two people and walk out of prison because someone decided that's enough, I think you should stand up and start calling some people," Babin said.

Late Thursday, the parole board issued a statement saying Hampton was eligible for parole and met the requirements. A residency plan is being finalized and once it's approved, he'll be released.

The board also said Hampton's life sentence for the Angola murder was vacated in 2018 and the charge was reduced to manslaughter.

The family released the following statement:

"We the family of Bertha Ann Gibson are devastated by the unimaginable injustice that her killer, Clifford Hampton, a twice convicted murderer, was released from serving two life sentences by the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole. This decision is a disgrace and terribly disappointing. We have never forgotten Bertha Ann, affectionately known, “Berd-An,” nor the brutal and heinous manner of her killing at the hands of Clifford Hampton. She was the brightest light in our family.  She was loved. She was the center of joy in our family. Clifford Hampton snuck into our family home and stabbed her over two dozen times, while her mother and siblings were away at work. She was just a teenage girl. She would have soon followed her older sister to Southern University, and been only the second person in our family to attend college. However, that was not to be.  Bertha-Ann was afraid of Clifford Hampton and wanted nothing to do with him.  He stabbed her to death because she dared to refuse his unwanted sexual advances.  Her mother, Mrs. Albertha Gibson, never recovered from Bertha Anne’s brutal murder. She was never the same. On her death bed, she called out to her murdered child. After he killed Bertha Ann, Clifford Hampton went on to kill yet again, murdering a fellow inmate at Angola, who he claimed lied on him, sexually assaulting another, and attempted to stab yet another inmate. Clifford Hampton is a dangerous violent sexual predator. Despite this, yesterday the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole released him into the community.  Clifford Hampton was sentenced to two life terms for his killings. He should have remained in prison for the rest of his natural life.  We as a family and a community remain deeply disappointed and frustrated by the process of review and the ultimate decision by the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole to release this violent individual back into the community. Bertha Ann was so much more than a poor young African American child of a widowed domestic. The lives of young African American women mattered in 1958 and today. Bertha-Ann Gibson’s life mattered, but apparently not to the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole.  We have only asked for justice. However, the Board of Pardons and Parole denied that to our loved one yesterday.  We are frustrated saddened, and fearful for the community and the people of Louisiana. They have not been well served by the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole."

BATON ROUGE - Policy changes are coming at the 19th Judicial Courthouse after a West Baton Rouge Parish deputy wasn't arrested on an outstanding warrant that was in place since November of 2018. Casco was fired late Tuesday after relentless reporting by the WBRZ Investigative Unit.

Alberto Casco killed Clyde Robertson on Friday morning as he drove a work-release van on LA 1. Casco had a suspended license and had an active bench warrant at the time of the crash.

Tuesday, the WBRZ Investigative Unit learned Casco's arrest warrant got pulled after a phone call was made by the internal affairs investigator for Casco's employer, the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office. After waiting almost two hours inside the East Baton Rouge courthouse, officials told the WBRZ Investigative Unit it was Kenneth Young of WBRSO who made that phone call Friday.

Casco skipped out on a court date back in November. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest and had not been cleared until after the deadly crash last week.

"His driving record indicates that he did not appear as was indicated on the ticket. And that's a good indication and is routine that a bench warrant is issued, and that would be a good indication that there would be one active at the time," East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore said.

The West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office denied that anyone asked to have Casco's warrant pulled. But, that goes against what East Baton Rouge Courthouse officials told WBRZ as they kept good records of who called and why the warrant was recalled. West Baton Rouge acknowledged the phone call but said they never asked to pull the warrant.

Policies at the 19th JDC were changed immediately. Now, arrest warrants won't be pulled over the phone unless a defendant appears in court or their attorney is involved.

EBR court officials said Casco should have been arrested Friday as traffic court was not in session for him to clear his arrest warrant.

UPDATE: The West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office says Albert Casco has been terminated for failing to disclose he had a suspended driver's license before the deadly crash Friday.

This is a developing story.

*****

PORT ALLEN - West Baton Rouge Deputy Alberto Casco had an active arrest warrant at the time he killed a pedestrian Friday morning, the WBRZ Investigative Unit uncovered. Despite that arrest warrant, he did not go to jail.

Monday, Louisiana State Police told WBRZ not all arrest warrants show up in a federal criminal database. Troopers investigating the crash didn't see he had a bench warrant on Friday. However, they did find that he was driving on a suspended license at the time of the crash. That nugget of information was not released until WBRZ began asking questions after being tipped off by sources about the discrepancies.

Casco was driving on LA 1 in a work release van Friday when he crashed into Clyde Robertson. Robertson died at the scene.

When troopers arrived at his house, his loved ones say they were quick to blame him for walking in the street.

"In this case, they tried to make it seem like Clyde was totally wrong. And then we find out because of WBRZ 2, the officer was just as wrong because he should not have even been driving," Kiease Becnel said. "Had he not been driving, Clyde would have still been alive."

The WBRZ Investigative Unit found out the following information about what led to Casco's driver's license being suspended and a bench warrant issued.

On September 19, he was pulled over for speeding, driving 71 mph in a 55 mph zone. He paid that ticket on Oct. 17, 2018. Seven days later, he was issued another ticket. This time it was on LSU's campus for driving 46 mph in a 25 mph zone. He was cited for speeding and 'multiple road lighting equipment.' Typically, that means the driver has additional lights on their vehicle that should not be there. It's unclear if that was the case for Casco.

Casco was scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 13, 2018 but didn't appear. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest, and three months later his license was suspended for that ticket. When Casco's driving history was run, it also indicated he had no insurance.

Casco was hired by the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office on Feb. 1, 2019. That means when he was hired he had an active arrest warrant.

Major Zack Simmers said just like State Police, their background check did not catch the active arrest warrant. Monday, Simmers said an internal affairs investigation was underway to determine how this happened and what discipline Casco will face.

"At the end of the day, I do believe policies were violated because we did not know the driver's license was suspended," Simmers said.

According to sources, the Office of Motor Vehicles notified Casco his license was suspended. However, the person or agency that notified Casco to rectify the bench warrant hours after the deadly crash remains a mystery.