U.S. District Judge Lance Africk has approved a settlement to end litigation over the fate of the Orleans Justice Center, known as Orleans Parish Prison (OPP). Operational control of the jail facilities will be ceded to a “compliance director,” who will be appointed in a joint effort between Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman, Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s office, the U.S. Justice Department, and the MacArthur Justice Center, which represents the inmates in the suit.
Marjorie R. Esman, ACLU of Louisiana Executive Director, said:
“We’re happy to see a resolution in this case, and hopeful that constitutional conditions will at last become the rule at OPP. Whoever takes on this job must be committed to maintaining a safe, humane facility, operated consistent with the consent decree and the law. We look forward to seeing the jail’s improvement.”