By Stephen Marcantel
The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.
BATON ROUGE — New laws going into effect Wednesday are aimed at keeping violent offenders incarcerated. They eliminate parole for adults who commit crimes after Aug. 1, dramatically cut the availability of good behavior credits in prison and limit how people can request plea deals after their convictions.
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READ: Suspect in Lafayette officer shooting consistently failed to meet his parole obligations, records show
In the wake of a fatal shooting of a Lafayette police officer, some in law enforcement are lamenting that the laws weren’t already in place and perhaps don’t go far enough.
If the Louisiana criminal justice system had done a better job, Duson Police Chief Kip Judice said this week, and never paroled the suspect in the shooting, he believes Sr. Cpl. Segus Jolivette might still be alive today.
“I don’t know who to blame right now,” Judice said, “Who has the blood of this police officer on their hands? I don’t know, but the system does. The Louisiana criminal justice system has the blood of a lot of people on its hands. It needs to change.”
While Act 6 would eliminate parole in most cases, the law gives no guidelines as far as sentencing length, Judice said. He believes judges may use discretion to lower sentence lengths since there is no chance at parole.
“We need a mandatory minimum,” Judice said, “We need a minimum associated with your third, fourth, etc. conviction based on the crime that you did.”
Jolivette, 31, was an 11-year officer with the Lafayette Police Department who served as a school resource officer at J.W. Faulk Elementary School. He was a resident of Opelousas, where he began his police work as a patrol officer.
The Lafayette police department’s SWAT team was called out July 25 to assist the Jeanerette Marshal’s Office. When deputies with the marshal’s office attempted to serve warrants at a home on Hubertville Road near Martin Luther King Drive, a suspect later identified as Nyjal Hurst took two hostages who were in the house.
A standoff ensued. Two Lafayette SWAT team members were shot, Jolivette fatally. Two others suffered minor injuries from bullet fragments.
The officer’s death is the first line-of-duty death the department has suffered since the fatal shooting in October 2017 of Cpl. Michael Middlebrook.
Hurst had extensive run-ins with law enforcement and consistently failed to meet his parole obligations, according to Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections records.
Hurst in 2014, then 21 years old and living in Jeanerette, was suspected of attempted first-degree murder in a drive-by shooting in the 300 block of Belle Place Oliveria Road.
The 2014 shooting occurred sometime after he failed to report to his probation officer for previous drug charges in 2012, according to DOSC. Hurst received suspended prison time for the three drug charges.
After failing to report, Hurst avoided arrest, but a warrant was issued, and he was eventually arrested in December 2014.
In February 2015, Hurst’s probation was revoked, and his original 2012 suspended sentences were imposed.
He would later plead to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder in the 2014 shooting, according to filings with Iberia Parish court.
On Aug. 18, 2017, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on that charge.
Seven months later, Hurst was released on goodtime parole supervision in March 2018.
His parole was revoked in 2019. In a plea deal, numerous charges were dropped, he was given credit for time served and was released on parole again in October 2022.
Louisiana does have habitual enhancements, which act as mandatory minimums if someone has a prior felony convictions. Reforms have reduced the mandatory minimums associated with them. The goal of the reform was to reduce the state’s prison population which currently stands out on the international stage with an incarnation rate of 1,067 prisoners per 100,000 residents with around 50,000 people currently incarcerated. The state currently has a higher incarnation rate than the entire United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Judice said repeat offenders should not be allowed to take plea deals. While plea deals are a “necessary evil,” he believes that repeat offenders should not get the benefits of admitting to lesser crimes.
Plea deals are an effective way to reduce backlog cases in lieu of extensive and sometimes expensive trials. They also give citizens their right to a speedy trial. Eliminating plea deals for repeat offenders could increase backlogs in a system already strained after the pandemic.
He said stricter sentencing would work as a deterrent to criminal behavior.
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