Louisiana law that limits release of criminal mugshots faces appeal

A bill that would undo restrictions on police going public with photos of criminal suspects advanced from a Louisiana Senate committee. It was one of multiple proposals the panel approved Tuesday, indicating lawmakers still have stricter measures to offer even after a special session devoted to crime.

The bill from Sen. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, would appeal a state law approved two years ago that limits law enforcement’s use of criminal suspect and arrestee photos. Police now have discretion to release mugshots if they are fugitives from the law or present an “imminent threat” to the public. 

Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, then a member of the Louisiana House, authored the law to rein in what he argued were the long-term impacts of a booking photo going public, especially for low-level offenders and persons who are cleared of wrongdoing.

Seabaugh’s bill would erase the law entirely, although he said Tuesday he was willing to reinstate a portion that restricts for-profit websites from forcing people to pay to have their booking photos removed.

“It took a tool out of the belt of law enforcement. I think we need to give it back to them,” Seabaugh told members of the Senate Committee of Judiciary C.    

Some sheriffs have complained about the manpower lost to devoting personnel to screen which photos can be made public, Seabaugh said.

“In practice … it just hasn’t worked,” he said.

In a text message, Duplessis said he worked with the news media and Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association to approve the law that protects the public while also preserving the presumption of innocence of people charged for nonviolent charges but not yet convicted. 

“Once a digital mugshot is made public online, it’s there forever, even if a person was never convicted,” Duplessis said. “If this law were such an issue for public safety, why was it not addressed during the crime session? It appears that a few sheriffs’ departments simply don’t like the inconvenience. That small inconvenience does not outweigh the societal benefits that this law provides, as evidenced by other states who have also passed similar legislation.”

‘Porch pirates’ could become felons 

Persons who steal packages delivered to someone’s home doorstep could be treated as felons under a bill from Sen. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, which the committee approved. 

His proposal would give judges discretion to combine the value of multiple items taken by so-called “porch pirates” to elevate punishment for the crime. The leeway could also be applied to thefts from a single location or multiple sites. If it’s proven someone had the intent to steal packages from multiple addresses, they could face from 60 days to two years under confinement under provisions of Hensgens bill.

Sarah Whittington, an attorney with the Justice and Accountability Center, spoke in opposition to Hensgens’ bill, arguing its penalties are too harsh for a relatively minor crime. 

Proponents included the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association.     

Current Louisiana law calls for prison sentences of up to five years for theft of items valued between $1,000 and $5,000. The punitive ceiling reaches 20 years for stolen goods worth $25,000 or more. 

Organized retail crime  

Another Hensgens bill that advanced from committee seeks to deter organized retail crime, where thieves repeatedly target stores where they can steal several items at a time. The proposal would also allow police to go after anyone who coordinates such illegal activity, he said.

Sally West, a regional director for government relations for Walgreens, told the Senate committee the company has spent $2.1 million on security at its stores in New Orleans to prevent organized retail crime. The pharmacy chain has closed stores in Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, and could shutter one in Seattle, that were frequently hit by gangs of repeat thieves.

Arkansas, Ohio and Washington have approved laws similar to the one Hengens has proposed, and California is expected to tighten its statutes to crack down on frequent retail theft.

Whenever an act of retail theft is coordinated among three or more people, Hensgens’ measure would treat it as second-degree robbery rather than simple robbery as current law dictates. Simple robbery can be punished by not more than seven years in prison, versus three to 40 years for second-degree robbery.

Child sex dolls, trafficking

Sen. Stewart Cathey, R-Monroe, said he would have proposed the death penalty for persons found guilty of child sex trafficking, but state law doesn’t allow for that harsh of a punishment. 

Instead, he’s crafted a bill to require life sentences for such offenders, gaining the committee’s unanimous approval.

Current penalties for trafficking anyone under age 18 for sexual purposes range from five to 25 years in prison.

A new law Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, has sponsored would criminalize the purchase, sale, manufacturing and shipping of sex dolls made to resemble a child. Her bill received unanimous committee support.

Language in Mizell’s measure applies to an anatomically correct doll, mannequin or robot with features resembling those of an infant or a child under 12 that “is intended to be used for sexual stimulation or gratification.” Anyone without knowledge of a package’s contents would not be held accountable.

Punishment would top out at $5,000 and a year in prison for anyone knowingly in possession of a child sex doll, $10,000 and a year’s imprisonment for making, shipping or selling the dolls, and $25,000 and a two years for anyone who imports them. 

Mizell said the dolls she’s been made aware of originate from Asia.

‘Gas station heroin’

Mizell also convinced the committee to advance her bill that outlaws the over-the-counter sale of tianeptine, an antidepressant and anxiety drug that has not been approved for use in the United States.

Known as “gas station heroin,” the product has been reported to cause seizures and even overdose deaths. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recalled the Neptune’s Fix brand of products because they contain tianeptine.

America’s Poison Centers counted nearly 400 cases of tianeptine exposure reported to poison control centers last year, according to CBS News, up from 105 in 2019.

Mizell’s proposal would make tianeptine a Schedule I drug. Except for heroin, marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids, penalties in Louisiana for all other Schedule I drugs are up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine for possession of up to 2 grams. Amounts of 2 grams or more but less than 28 grams carry up to 10 years of prison time. 

Punishment is more severe for manufacturing or selling Schedule I narcotics.

Mardi Gras turf wars

Sen. Jimmy Harris, D-New Orleans, wants to help New Orleans authorities crack down on people who stake out parade-viewing spots on the city’s streetcar line. A bill the Senate committee approved would add those thoroughfares to a law that prohibits blocking a “highway of commerce.”

Parade goers are known to drive stakes into the neutral ground along the transit lines, damaging fiber optic lines underneath, Harris said. Secured tarps have also become caught in streetcar tracks, requiring emergency repairs.

His proposal would provide teeth to local agencies and allow offenders to be fined no less than $2,500 for obstruction. 

City officials have struggled to stop groups from setting up tents, barbecue pits and furniture — some of which block accessibility features on sidewalks — well ahead of Mardi Gras parades.