Committee meets to discuss jail

The jail committee, which was formed during the previous Evangeline Parish Police Jury meeting, held its first meeting on Wednesday, February 10.
Sheriff Charles Guillory, who is a member of the committee, reported he along with Secretary-Treasurer Donald Bergeron and Jurors Lamar Johnson and Keith Saucier met with GEO regarding the housing of parish inmates in the Basile facility. The sheriff said the company needed an official request.
“Basile houses females only,” the sheriff said,” and they have about 85 (prisoners) and 1,100 beds. Pine Prairie has 250 (prisoners) and is an all male facility, and they have 1,100 beds. If an agreement can be worked out, it may work out to where they can do something like this jury did with the LeBlanc Group. They housed inmates for Evangeline Parish just a few years ago at $15 per inmate which was a whole lot better than $26.39.”
The sheriff is remaining hopeful an outcome can be reached but said, “it’s coming to the end.” He added, “At the rate it’s going now, the funding to house these inmates out of the parish will be depleted.”
Jury Attorney Chris Ludeau reported some stats on the current number of inmates.
“As of Monday,” he said, “there were 203 inmates. Forty-two have been there more than a year. The remainder have been there less than a year. Fifty-four of them have been in there two months. It’s one of those situations where is someone is arrested today they won’t get their first pre-trial day for probably two to three months.”
According to Ludeau, that two to three month period is when possible pleas or strategies can be worked out between the prisoners and the Indigent Defendant Board.
The committee discussed other possible options such as home incarceration, ankle bracelets, and rehab.
“As it relates to rehab,” said Ludeau, “very rarely will you find an objection to rehab. If it is your first or second or sometimes third offense, we won’t object to a rehab request.”
The sheriff went on to say a new jail could provide necessary place for programs he does not currently provide such as substance abuse treatment, ministry, work release, anger management, and counseling.
“It’s not only locking them up,” the sheriff said. “It’s teaching them things at the same time. If I can save one, that one will not go back through the system. You want to break that circle.”
Juror Kevin Veillon questioned the sheriff whether or not the proposed one-cent sales tax is for a jail, and Juror Bryan Vidrine asked if the tax can be used for a jail. The sheriff replied, “It can be used for anything the sheriff would need.”
The sheriff proposed a hypothetical situation to where GEO closes its prisons in the parish after its contract expires in June. “The wording of the tax would be flexible,” the sheriff said. “Let’s say if GEO moves, I can use revenues from the tax to buy the facility” in Pine Prairie.
Brian Ardoin, who ran against Sheriff Guillory in the previous election, brought up speedy trial issues along with other issues in objection to the tax.
“This is a pretty big issue,” Ardoin said. “Whether we are talking about a jail or a tax, he (the sheriff) just pretty much told you guys that if the tax passes he can use it for whatever he wants to use it for. This could easily be a tax for a jail.”
The committee will again meet on Tuesday, February 23.