By Anna Puleo | LSU Manship School News Service
BATON ROUGE–The House Appropriations Committee on Monday advanced two major criminal justice bills, including a post-conviction change that could cost the state more than $4 million next year.
House Bill 675, by Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Pearl River, would limit when and how incarcerated people can appeal convictions. It stops those who pled guilty from claiming factual innocence, speeds up deadlines in death-row cases and allows the attorney general to take over some post-conviction cases.
It also says applications are considered abandoned if no filings are made within two years, regardless of the case’s stage.
The changes would cost the Office of the State Public Defender about $4.2 million in fiscal 2026, which starts July 1. Staff attorney Robert Morris, who opposed the bill, said the office currently handles 12 cases at once, but HB 675 could activate 30 to 40 pending cases due to acceleration of the death row cases. That would require the staff to triple.
Frederick Richard–a victim of the so-called “Cheneyville Slasher,” Larry Roy, in 1993–expressed support for the bill, pointing to how long justice has been delayed.
Richard, now 40, was eight years old when he and his younger brother survived a brutal knife attack in Cheneyville, Louisiana, by Roy, their mother’s ex-husband. Two others were killed in the attack.
Roy pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and is on death row. But Richard highlighted the emotional toll on his family from waiting more than three decades for an evidentiary hearing.
Opponents argue that the bill places too much pressure on the public defender’s office and risks rushing critical reviews.
Morris warned that Louisiana’s high death row reversal rate means the appeals process needs to be thorough. Speeding up deadlines and limiting appeals could lead to mistakes and wrongful convictions.
The committee also advanced House Bill 479, which aims to improve victim and witness notification. The bill would require the department of Public Safety and Corrections to create a comprehensive notification system, aiming to ensure victims receive timely information about inmates.
This comes after 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans prison Friday, a breakout that officials did not know about for several hours, and the public was not notified until even later.
That delay raised concerns about the prison’s communication and the urgency of keeping victims and the community informed.
Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, who introduced the bill, said it will improve transparency and protect victims’ rights.
HB 479 is expected to cost about $6.3 million in fiscal year 2026, mostly for developing and operating the new system. The Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement would see savings as responsibilities shift to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.