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Sheriff acknowledges ‘failure’ Hutson suspends reelection campaign after apologizing to City Council, taking full accountability for jailbreak
Jail worker accused of aiding escape
BY LARA NICHOLSON, JUSTIN MITCHELL and MISSY WILKINSON Staff writers
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson speaks during a New Orleans City Council meeting Tuesday in the aftermath of last week’s escape of 10 inmates from the Orleans Parish Justice Center. BY JAMES FINN and MISSY WILKINSON Staff writers
Sheriff Susan Hutson, who oversees the New Orleans jail from which 10 inmates escaped last week, suspended her campaign for reelection Tuesday, hours after she apologized to the City Council amid mounting calls for her resignation and questions about her leadership. In an about-face from past statements that pointed blame at
other parties, Hutson on Tuesday told the council she takes “full accountability” for the escapes and acknowledged that the breakout was a “failure.” Late Monday, Hutson said she was grateful to all who assisted in a frenzied manhunt for the escapees that has reached its fifth day, and pointed out the steps her office has taken to assist the process. “Still, there is a long road ahead of me to be fully satisfied that the OJC (jail) and my deputies have
INSIDE
over your needs.” Her announcement followed an ä Fifth escapee recaptured on explosive City Council meeting Iberville Street. Page 5A in which Hutson, at times contrite and at other times defiant, ä One escapee was awaiting engaged in a years-old argument transfer to state prison. Page 6A with the City Council over whether a funding shortage or mismanthe proper resources to perform agement is to blame for the jail’s their duties to the fullest ex- well-documented inadequacies. For the better part of three tent the people of New Orleans deserve,” she said. “As such, I hours, council members also am temporarily suspending my peppered Hutson and two of her reelection campaign. I cannot ä See SHERIFF, page 4A spend a moment putting politics
Someone needed to turn off the water. To execute Friday morning’s massive jailbreak from the New Orleans jail without flooding the cell and setting off alarms, a valve in the “pump chase,” a supposedly secured area located behind rows of cells, would need Williams cranking off. According to authorities, Sterling Williams, a 33-year-old maintenance man who has worked for five years at the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, was the man for the job. An investigation by the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation led to Williams’ arrest Monday on one count of malfeasance and 10 counts of principal to simple escape. According to an affidavit for his arrest warrant, Williams “willfully and maliciously” aided in the brazen early morning exodus. An initial Sheriff’s Office investigation found that the 10 inmates, five of whom remained on the lam late Tuesday, did the rest. That review found they escaped “by removing a sink toilet combination unit from a cell, then using an unknown apparatus to saw steel bars behind the cell room sink.
ä See WORKER, page 5A
Bill seeks to ban DEI in government Controversial measure faces opposition
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
Members of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus remained upset Tuesday after a Republican lawmaker pushed a bill through the House the night before that would ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs in state government. On Monday, in an unusual form of protest, two dozen Black Democrats and two White Democrats stood in solidarity in the front of
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2025 LEGISLATURE
the House to express their quiet fury with the bill, repeatedly calling it “divisive.” Debate over the bill lasted into the night. “This is the most racially offensive piece of legislation that I think I’ve had to debate since I came into office,” said Rep. Candace Newell, D-New Orleans, the first of 10 members of the Black Caucus who denounced the measure, House Bill 685 by Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge. “This bill is about race, that’s
all,” Rep. Ed Larvadain, D-Alexandria, said several minutes later. Chenevert teared up briefly as she defended it, saying, “My desire is that we come together, and we not divide.” Voting closely along party lines, the House passed Chenevert’s bill by four votes, 57-32. No Democrats voted for the bill, while three Republicans voted against it. They were Rep. Vincent Cox, of Gretna; Rep. Beth Billings, of Destrehan; and Rep. Jeff Wiley, of Gonzales. Likely indicating the political sensitivities, 13 members who
ä See DEI, page 11A
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Members of the Legislative Black Caucus stand in opposition Monday to a bill that would ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs in state government.
Business ...................10A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................8D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....4D-7D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
12TH yEAR, NO. 282