Faith leaders and advocates allege AG, LDAA ‘interfered’ in death row clemency review process

BATON ROUGE, La. (KALB) - On the steps of Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office Tuesday, faith leaders and anti-death penalty advocates once again spoke out against efforts to stall the clemency application process before Gov. John Bel Edwards leaves office.

They called out the involvement of AG Landry and the Louisiana District Attorneys Association (LDAA) in the matter, alleging they “maneuvered and interfered with the fully lawful clemency process.”

“AG Landry and the DA Association didn’t want to risk having even one, much less each person on death row, make their case to the parole board,” said Rev. Alexis Anderson, executive director of PREACH. “Instead, they filed frivolous lawsuits, pressured people and thwarted a system that they should have had nothing to do with.”

LDAA responded to the allegations, telling KALB that it is their job to help DAs in the clemency review process.

”If standing up for the victims and the family members of the victims and the survivors of these horrible murders is interfering, then yes, we interfered,” said Loren Lampert, executive director of LDAA. “But that’s what we’ve done at every turn and what we’ll continue to do is litigate on behalf of and speak on behalf of and advocate on behalf of those who can’t speak for themselves and that’s those who were murdered so heniously as to land these people on death row.”

Meanwhile, the AG’s office has not yet responded to KALB’s request for comment.

Landry is poised to take the governor’s seat in January, and he is a proponent of carrying out the death penalty.

All clemency applications are in limbo following a settlement agreement that essentially halts scheduled clemency hearings and delays any potential hearings until after Dec. 31, 2023.

Those scheduled for hearings will first have administrative review hearings on their scheduled dates, further delaying any possible sentence commutations. So far, those applications that have gone before administrative review have been denied a clemency hearing.

Clemency proponents called out Gov. Edwards, who has publically decried the death penalty, citing his pro-life beliefs. Edwards has not taken any executive action on the 56 death row clemency applications.

“Since this is my only chance to plea to you, governor, as our time is so short. So short. And it’s been so long,” said Emily Rossi, the daughter of a murder victim who said her father’s convicted killer was wrongfully found guilty. “Let me finally remember my dad as he lived, decent, fair, good. Not just a murder victim. Truly no one ever sought justice for our father, and he too was born an innocent baby.”

Following the press conference, organizers hand-delivered a letter to the AG’s office signed by more than 100 faith leaders in opposition to the death penalty and in favor of commutation.

Click here to report a typo. Please provide the title of the article in your email.

Copyright 2023 KALB. All rights reserved.