Task force member talks about the need for mental health services for inmates [Video]

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The East Baton Rouge Parish Prison Jail and Juvenile Detention Center Task Force aims to provide the community with a clear understanding of local prison operations and conditions.

For the past seven years, task force members like Sherie Thomas have been working to fix the mental health crisis in Louisiana’s prisons.

“Locking them up is not helping them get treatment. Locking them up is not helping their condition, it’s actually worsening their condition,” Thomas said.

Thomas looks to other facilities for possible solutions. She said one facility had a way to view inmates who were in confinement at all times.

“In Louisiana, we have an extremely high death rate of individuals that commit suicide inside of confinement,” Thomas said.

How well are Louisiana criminal justice reforms working to reduce crime?