In response to Governor John Bel Edwards’ interview with KNOE on the Swanson Center for Youth earlier this week, Gina Womack, the Executive Director of Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), issued the following statement:
“Our elected Governor, John Bel Edwards, should be ashamed of his assertion that a punitive, violent and inherently traumatic prison like Swanson is a safe place for young people.
Swanson and other youth prisons like it have been havens for physical, mental and sexual abuse against children. It's been repeatedly proven that the state is unfit to provide the safety for the youth in their custody.
Additionally, Governor Edwards’ blatant criminalization and adultification of system-impacted youth, who are disportionately Black, is demonstrative of the state and the country’s cruel history of enslavement, oppression and control of Black lives and labor.
Young people of all backgrounds engage in risky behavior at the same rates, yet Black youth are six times more likely than white youth to be incarcerated in Louisiana. This is unacceptable and unjustifiable.
True public safety and justice does not require the incarceration and separation of Louisiana’s most vulnerable youth from their families. Studies have specifically shown that community based programs for young people are more effective for improved public safety. Lacking adequate preventive services at the front end of the system, children only end up accessing diversion programs and mental health support during incarceration at the deep end of the system. This backwards approach negates everything we know about adolescent brain development and youth best practices.
We must change our punitive approach and invest in young people and their communities in order to properly address the root causes of crime- poverty and lack of opportunities and supportive systems. A new facility won’t prevent additional violence and harm from occurring- the new youth prison in Acadiana has already experienced several incidents since its opening. Instead, by centering the communities who are directly impacted by the youth prison system, we will be able to give kids the freedom and chance to grow from their mistakes instead of being defined by them.
The Juvenile Justice Reform Act Implementation Commission (JJRAIC) has begun meeting to finally implement reforms that were promised to youth and families over 18 years ago. These reforms could have prevented today’s youth from ever becoming involved in the criminal-legal system in the first place. The Governor must acknowledge the history of Louisiana’s broken promise to youth and also understand that Louisianans are ready for these critical changes- 73% of Louisianans, across political parties, favor community-based programs over youth incarceration.
Governor Edwards, we are calling on you to immediately halt construction on Swanson-Monroe and shut this nightmarish prison down. We are calling you in to join us at the JJRAIC meeting this Tuesday the 19th, and hear the concerns of the Commission and other child serving decision making tables that serve at your behest such as the Children's Cabinet Advisory Board and local Children Youth and Planning Boards. With these partners, we seek to invest in Louisiana’s youngest generation and to commit to implementing long-overdue community-based solutions, instead of perpetuating a legacy of systemic racism and mass incarceration.”
