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Proposed bill aims get rid of parole for 'dangerous offenders'

1 year 4 months 1 week ago Saturday, June 03 2023 Jun 3, 2023 June 03, 2023 3:15 PM June 03, 2023 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE- Legislators and law enforcement continue to say that crime has become a major problem in Louisiana, but the solution is not cut and dry. 

State Representative Larry Frieman says a good place to start is by making sure dangerous criminals serve out their sentence and stay in prison.

"A lot of these people are serving maybe 25% of their sentence," Frieman told WBRZ. "They are getting out on good time, they are getting out on parole and they are re-offending."

According to the bill, a District Attorney can allege that a convicted criminal is a "dangerous offender" and a hearing would be scheduled. If the criminal is deemed dangerous, they would have to serve 85% of their sentence before they can be eligible for parole.

But what is a dangerous offender?

Well, it's a long list. The bill says it can be someone who committed violent or sex crimes, as well as trafficking dangerous drugs like fentanyl. It can also be someone who breaks Louisiana's Racketeering or Terrorism acts.

Frieman says something has to be done to stop certain criminals from getting back on the streets earlier than they should.

"Not everyone can be rehabilitated. The ones who don't want to be rehabilitated, they have to be in jail longer because they are re-offending and terrorizing our cities and our citizen."

Repeat offenders have been a talking point in Baton Rouge over the past year. Baton Rouge Chief of Police sounded off to reporters about the issue.

"We got to stop letting these violent criminals who are continuing to terrorize our neighborhoods back on the streets," Paul said at a presser last week.

Frieman says this is far from just a Baton Rouge issue.

"We're having this problem all over our state," Frieman said.

Frieman tells WBRZ the Louisiana Sheriff's Association is in support of his bill. It is expected to be discussed on the Senate floor soon.

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