New Orleans Jailbreak: Gov. Landry Slams Progressive Policies as Fugitives Remain at Large

Seven fugitives, including two murder suspects, remain on the loose after a brazen escape from the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility in New Orleans last Friday. The jailbreak, captured on surveillance footage, has sparked a fierce rebuke from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who blames the city’s progressive criminal justice policies for enabling the breakout.

During a Sunday press conference, Landry didn’t mince words: "New Orleans handed the jail keys to those who promised to keep criminals out of jail, and now we’re watching the consequences unfold." He pointed to the escape as a glaring example of what happens when politicians prioritize pandering over public safety, leaving communities vulnerable.

The escape itself reads like a Hollywood script. Ten inmates, including the seven still at large, crawled through a hole hidden behind a toilet, scaled a barbed wire fence, and sprinted across a highway into a nearby neighborhood. They even left taunting messages on the wall: "To Easy LOL" and "WE INNOCENT." Authorities suspect an inside job, noting a female civilian employee conveniently stepped away to grab food during the escape.

Landry has responded with decisive action, issuing an executive order to audit the jail through the state’s Department of Corrections and remove all state inmates from the facility. Another order tasks the state inspector general with inventorying inmates awaiting trial or sentencing. The governor emphasized that delays in sentencing, like in the case of escapee Derrick Groves, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter but remained in the jail, create opportunities for such chaos.

The fugitives—Jermaine Donald, 42; Antoine Massey, 33; Leo Tate, 31; Lenton Vanburen, 27; Derrick Groves, 27; Gary Price, 21; and Corey Boyd, 19—face serious charges. Donald and Boyd, in particular, are wanted for second-degree murder, among other crimes. Authorities warn they may have fled Louisiana, and bounties of $20,000 have been set for each.

As the manhunt intensifies, with state troopers and federal partners working around the clock, the escape has ignited a broader debate about the balance between reform and responsibility in the justice system.