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S u n d ay, M a r c h 16, 2025
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Faith leaders divided over capital punishment Religious elements are part of Louisiana’s death penalty practices
BY ANDREA GALLO and MEGHAN FRIEDMANN
is expected on Tuesday, he will walk past two colorful paintings of scenes from the Bible. Staff writers One shows Elijah, the Old Before Jessie Hoffman Jr. Testament prophet, ascending enters Louisiana’s execution to heaven on a chariot engulfed chamber at the Louisiana State with flames. The other depicts Penitentiary at Angola, which Daniel praying for God to save
Hoffman
him from the lion’s den. “That was the attempt of the prison to give the blessing of religion on what was about to happen,” said Sister Helen Prejean, a Baton Rouge native, Roman Catholic nun and famed anti-death-penalty ac-
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tivist. “That just as Elijah was brought up in a fiery chariot, so now the condemned was going to go to God in the fiery chariot of the electric chair.” The Biblical paintings Hoffman will encounter near the death chamber will underscore
The outer layer of the exterior of the Pentagon Barracks begins to peel, exposing bricks underneath.
an essential fact about Louisiana: Religion remains a central part of the life and culture of the state, including when it comes to the death penalty. Anti-death penalty advocates are lodging a final push to spare Hoffman from being put to death, via nitrogen gas, for the
ä See FAITH, page 4A
Health club founder Red Lerille dies at 88 Bodybuilding icon won Mr. America, Mr. Universe titles BY CLAIRE TAYLOR, JOANNA BROWN and ADAM DAIGLE Staff writers
STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS
House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, standing in a grass field where a proposed new wing for additional apartments would be constructed at the Pentagon Barracks, sees the expansion as a way to keep state legislators housed while the four-sided building is renovated.
House speaker proposes expanding Pentagon Barracks while building housing lawmakers undergoes long-awaited updates BY TYLER BRIDGES
Staff writer
They are called the Pentagon Barracks, and getting an apartment there from the House speaker is a choice perk for a state legislator. Staying at one of the red brick apartments means living in a historic building while paying cheap rent a stone’s throw from the Capitol. The courtyard in the middle serves as the focal point for gatherings hosted nearly every night by interest groups and lobbyists
during the legislative session. The downside to living there: Some of the ground-floor apartments flood during heavy rains and frequent leaks damage walls and ceilings throughout the complex. Old pipes have been known to burst. The state entity that oversees the Pentagon Barracks has been proposing for several years to undertake a complete renovation that would require each building’s residents to move elsewhere for a year or so until the work on that building is complete.
Now House Speaker Phillip DeVillier is exploring what could become a controversial idea, and it involves a quirk: A pentagon by definition has five sides, but the Pentagon Barracks consists of only four buildings. DeVillier has asked state officials to explore adding a fifth building in the empty space and then move the legislators to the new building, one at a time, during the renovation. That way no one would have to move out. And at the
Red Lerille, founder of Red Lerille’s Health and Racquet Club in Lafayette, died Friday at age 88. The announcement was made Friday afternoon on the health club’s Facebook page. “It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Red Lerille on March 14, 2025. Red will be deeply missed by all,” the post read. Lerille was well-known throughout Acadiana for his health club and for giving back to the community that he loved. “The outpouring online is a testament to what he’s done and built,” his son, Mark Lerille, said Friday. “Thank you all so much for the condolences and support. As for the club itself, it will go on.” Lerille’s daughter, Kackie, added, “We’re so grateful for everyone who touched his life.” A story Lerille often told friends was of putting pictures of Mr. America on his bedroom wall when he was only 7 years old. He told everyone who came into his room back then that he would be Mr. America one day. A native of New Orleans, he worked out at the New Orleans Athletic Club to become a better wrestler and later won three state championships. He first competed in a weightlifting competition at age 14. But it was an invitation from Lafayette gym owner and weightlifting pioneer Mike Stansbury that may have put Lerille on a track to
ä See LERILLE, page 9A
ä See PENTAGON, page 8A
Southern student’s death sparks painful discussions Hazing runs deep in Greek life culture
of Southern University junior engineering student Caleb Wilson is one of Louisiana’s first uses of its felony anti-hazing law called the Max Gruver Act. BY QUINN COFFMAN The state Legislature passed Staff writer the act in 2018 and named it after The criminal case forming the LSU Phi Delta Theta frateragainst three suspects in last nity pledge, who died from alcomonth’s fraternity hazing death hol poisoning in a hazing incident
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in 2017. It allows prosecutors to bring a felony charge in hazing incidents of coerced consumption of alcohol, serious bodily harm or death. Former Southern student Caleb McCray, 23; Kyle Thurman, 25, an Omega Psi Phi fraternity member; and Isaiah Smith, 28, a Southern graduate student en-
titled “dean of pledges” for the university’s Omega Psi chapter, were arrested and booked by authorities on felony hazing counts tied to Wilson’s Feb. 27 death. McCray also faces a manslaughter charge. The Omega Psi pledging ritual
ä See HAZING, page 6A
Business ......................1E Deaths .........................3B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................2B Living............................1D Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
Red Lerille, who founded Red Lerille’s Health and Racquet Club in Lafayette, died Friday at age 88.
100TH yEAR, NO. 259