Why is Louisiana's crackdown on crime a reversal of its judicial overhaul?

Louisiana's Republican governor, Jeff Landry, signed a slew of bills Tuesday that are meant to crack down on crime in a drastic way, in what is a sharp turnaround from previous reforms in the state. The 11 bills, recently approved by the Louisiana Legislature, give the Pelican State some of the harshest crime laws in the nation.  

The new bills were passed to "lengthen sentences for some offenses, to strictly limit access to parole, to prosecute 17-year-olds charged with any crime as adults and to allow methods of execution beyond lethal injection," The New York Times said. These methods include electrocution and nitrogen gas, the latter of which has proven to be a controversial way to put someone to death. One of Landry's bills also allows people to carry concealed handguns without a permit. Landry had pledged to retool Louisiana's criminal code upon taking office this January, and said in a statement the new bills "put the interests of victims before the interests of criminals."

Notably, the laws roll back changes made to Louisiana's judiciary in 2017, in particular regarding prison reforms. These changes, helmed by Louisiana Democrats, "shortened some prison sentences, recalculated who was eligible for parole, weakened drug laws and made it harder to send someone back to prison for violating parole or probation," The Washington Post said. But now Landry appears to be doing away with these reforms, something that critics have argued could lead to unforeseen problems across Louisiana. 

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What did the commentators say?

New prison sentencing laws, proponents hope, will decrease recidivism by reducing "instances of inmates only serving a 'fraction of their sentence,'" Sara Cline said for The Associated Press. But the legislation "won't deter crime," say critics, and "will cost the state millions as it continues to house inmates who could be paroled." It could also create "less incentive for good behavior and involvement in programs designed to help former inmates succeed in the outside world."

Crime in Louisiana has indeed been soaring in recent years, and Landry and his supporters "argue that the new stringent measures are necessary to crack down on violence," Rick Rojas said for the Times. But beyond the new legislation being unlikely to deter crime itself, the "new laws are variations of flawed past policies and would have the same consequences: punishing people of color disproportionately, obliterating hope and pathways to rehabilitation for prisoners, and foisting a staggering cost onto taxpayers," Rojas said, summarizing the critics.

These bills are a "significant victory for Landry and a fulfillment of a campaign promise," Piper Hutchinson said for the Louisiana Illuminator. But at the same time, it is a "loss for many reform advocates," given that the prior reforms had "reduced the state's nation-leading prison population."

The legislation's "impact on the state's coffers may not come into focus for years," James Finn said for The New Orleans Advocate. An "apparent rush to make the governor's criminal justice vision reality left the bills' fiscal impact unclear." Landry has disputed that his agenda will cost Louisiana any additional taxpayer money. But legislative analysts believe the bills "will cost taxpayers just north of $32 million," Finn said, and the "debate over how much those laws will cost taxpayers comes at a time of uncertainty for Louisiana's financial health."

What next? 

Other states will likely attempt to follow Louisiana's lead on crime — and some are already trying to do so, as "other states have also dialed back efforts to experiment with new approaches to criminal justice," the Times said. Last week, Oregon lawmakers passed a bill that would recriminalize small amounts of drugs, the AP said, thereby "undoing a key part of the state's first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law."

And the GOP — in particular former President Donald Trump — has made cracking down on crime a key part of its agenda. Trump is running on a platform of stopping alleged "migrant crime," although crime in the United States has been dropping. However, many cities that do have high crime rates are also located in red states, so similar efforts from GOP lawmakers could likely be seen in other conservative states.