In a surprising turn of events, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson is facing backlash for a campaign fundraising email that emphasized the security measures at the Orleans Justice Center.
This email was sent just three days before a shocking jailbreak, in which 10 inmates managed to escape from the facility. The incident has led to calls for her resignation from a local lawmaker.
According to Fox News, five of the 10 escapees from the Orleans Justice Center on May 16 have been apprehended by state and federal law enforcement officials. Hutson accepted responsibility for the jailbreak during a New Orleans City Council meeting on Tuesday.
"It is deeply troubling to me as your sheriff, and I know it is equally troubling to you and the public that we are sworn to protect. As your sheriff, I take full accountability for this failure, and it is my responsibility to make sure it is addressed with urgency and transparency," she stated.
In the fundraising email sent prior to the escape, Hutson had praised the security enhancements at the jail. "Since I became Sheriff, weve worked hard to make the Orleans Justice Center safer for everyone," she wrote. "Preventative maintenance is a priority, from taking out things that could be used as weapons to making sure the air conditioning and bathrooms work as they should."
In a YouTube video accompanying the email, Hutson further highlighted the improvements made to the facility during her tenure.
"As we have had a population that is 50% greater than when I got into office, it has taxed all of our systems from air conditioning to plumbing to electric. And we've got to maintain that. And it was not maintained before I got here. So we now have regular preventative maintenance, which you know is much cheaper than actually having to replace a whole system such as an air conditioning system," she explained.
However, these claims have been met with skepticism in light of the recent jailbreak. Democrat Louisiana House Rep. Aimee Adatto Freeman, who represents a portion of New Orleans, expressed her disbelief at the timing of the email. "My reaction was how ironic that you would send this out, and you seem to be asking for help, but yet you aren't presenting any I didn't see any solutions being presented. And that is another reason why I don't think she should be sheriff," Freeman told Fox News Digital.
Freeman has called for Hutson's resignation, citing her alleged leadership failures. "She is a failure of leadership, and her inadequacy in keeping the inmates locked up in prison is a failure at multiple levels. Her one job is to keep those inmates safely in custody and away from the general public and the citizens of our city and our state."
Despite the controversy, Hutson, who is up for re-election in the fall, has only temporarily suspended her campaign and has not withdrawn from the race. Rep. Jason Hughes, a colleague of Freeman, has also called for Hutson's resignation.
The Orleans Justice Center has been operating under a federal consent decree since 2013. Every six months, federal jail monitors question deputies at the jail, and their reports consistently find jailers "incapable of describing what an acceptable security check would be like."
The escapees who have been recaptured are Kendell Myles, Robert Moody, Gary Price, Dkenan Dennis, and Corey Boyd, leaving five inmates still at large. Boyd, the most recent inmate to be recaptured, was in jail on charges of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, aggravated battery, and threatening a public official.
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