BATON ROUGE, La. (KADN) - As the special session on crime continues at the Louisiana State Capitol, we talk with Attorney General Liz Murrill about lack of law enforcement officers statewide, criminal justice reform, and Louisiana's involvement in controlling the US-Mexico border in Texas.
The lack of law enforcement officers in Louisiana was highlighted with the recent state of emergency issued by Gov. Jeff Landry. According to the attorney general, it's becoming more challenging to attract qualified people for these positions but she says law enforcement must feel supported.
"I think we need to support the police," said Attorney General Murrill. "We have some bills in this session that will protect them from frivolous lawsuits, protect them when they act in good faith and are not intended to hurt somebody, but sometimes things happen while they are enforcing the law. That would allow qualified immunity for good-faith actions."
When it comes to criminal justice reform, the AG said accountability is what she supports.
"What we support and, I know the governor supports, is accountability. If someone commits a crime and there are certain crimes that have hefty penalties, what the governor is supporting in the crime session is one of truth and sentencing, so victims know how much time the person is going to serve. That's how you right size penalties," explained Attorney General Murrill.
If the Louisiana Legislature approves it, members of the Louisiana National Guard will be sent to the border to assist Texas with controlling the flow of illegal immigrants into the country. This could happen as soon as next month.
The AG said Louisiana is directly affected by this border crisis.
"We support Texas in attempting to control the border. We are right on I-10, come straight in from the border, so our fentanyl problem is a problem that started in Mexico and started with cartels in trafficking drugs across our border," added Attorney General Murrill.
The special legislative session on crime has to come to a close no later that March 6.
