BATON ROUGE, La. — A new federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge alleges that the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections continues to systematically detain individuals past their court-ordered release dates.
The lawsuit, filed by Lisa Andres and Jaren Brignac on Aug. 28, names Secretary Gary Wescott as the sole defendant. Andres spent 101 days in jail past her court-ordered release date, while Brignac was held nine days past his release date. Attorneys are seeking class-action status for the complaint.
According to department records cited in the suit, more than 1,200 people were held past their release dates from August 2024 through 2025. This follows a 2023 U.S. Justice Department finding of systemic overdetention in Louisiana, as well as a 2012 internal review that showed more than 2,000 people per year were overdetained. A Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s report released in February found for the fifth consecutive time that the department failed to verify changes to inmate release dates…