Appeals court pauses removal of incarcerated youths from Louisiana’s maximum-security adult prison

By KEVIN McGILL and SARA CLINE
Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, LA. (AP) — A federal appeals court has temporarily halted a judge’s order to remove juvenile detainees by Friday from a former death row building at an adult penitentiary in Louisiana. Attorneys for the youths have until noon Friday to file any opposition to the stay request. Last week, a federal judge ordered the Sept. 15 deadline for the removal of the youths temporarily housed at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Juvenile detainees and their advocates allege that youths have been held in harmful conditions at the maximum-security prison. Proponents argue the space is needed to house “high-risk” aggressive youths, noting many were involved in violent incidents at other detention facilities.