Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson was pressed on recent high-profile incidents affecting the department during a live debate on WWL on Thursday, and pushed back on claims that the May 16 jailbreak was “historic.”
“It was not a historic break,” Hutson said. “There were breaks in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s—more than 20 people got out one year. In 2021, another escape occurred. I’ve even met some of the individuals who broke out back then. That was a true breakout. What happened in May was a let out, not a breakout.
Authorities said 10 incarcerated men escaped the Orleans Parish Justice Center in the early hours of Friday, May 16. They reportedly slipped through a hole behind a toilet, scaled the jail’s walls and ran across Interstate 10 before disappearing into nearby neighborhoods…