New Orleans jail security 'train wreck' helped 4-time escapee, 9 others break out: former warden

Deficient information protocols allowed a serial flight creator and 9 others to interruption retired of a New Orleans jail, according to a erstwhile national situation warden. 

"First of all, that jailhouse had been deemed a bid wreck successful presumption of conscionable basal jailhouse operations," Cameron Lindsay told Fox News Digital. 

Lindsay worked for 20 years successful the national situation system, 7 of them arsenic a warden. He was erstwhile the warden of the infamous Metropolitan Detention Center successful Brooklyn. He besides served arsenic a warden astatine 2 backstage prisons. Now, helium is simply a advisor and adept witness. 

"It would look that basal information inspections were not taking spot astatine the jail. Inmates should ne'er beryllium capable to teardrop a toilet disconnected of a partition and conscionable beryllium capable to spell close to the perimeter fence," helium said. "I mean, I conscionable can't judge that." 

This photograph shows the spread near down by inmates who escaped the Orleans Parish Prison. (Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office)

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In 2013, the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office (OPSO), which runs the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility, entered into a consent decree with the Department of Justice to support the jailhouse operational. The decree stemmed from civilian rights abuses, and OPSO agreed to national authorities oversight and biannual compliance checks.

The latest of those compliance cheque reports shows that the jailhouse was afloat compliant with 42% of the decree's measures and wholly noncompliant with astatine slightest 5% of them. It is partially compliant with astir 53% of the measures. 

The report, released successful October 2024, paints a representation of wholly inadequate inmate supervision, starring to unit and the usage of illicit drugs, shakedown and extortion schemes, and inmates having limitless clip to manner weapons retired of mundane jailhouse items. 

Sheriff Susan Hutson speaks astatine City Hall successful New Orleans connected May 20, 2025. (Sophia Germer/Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

"There were important incidents of unit occurring wrong the facilities during the monitoring period; including inmate-on-inmate assaults and assaults connected staff," according to the report. "The level of unit successful the installation continued to beryllium astatine all-time precocious levels during this monitoring period."

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"The inmates look to beryllium emboldened successful their refusal to travel the rules and obey the orders of the information staff," the study said. "Very concerning is that some unit and inmates proceed to relay to the Monitors that determination are inmates who are acting arsenic ‘tank bosses’ and are extorting different inmates and requiring outgo for protection."

Law enforcement searches for a fugitive successful New Orleans connected May 21, 2025. (Chris Granger/Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

There was besides nary jailhouse monitoring strategy to verify that information checks were taking spot and being reported astatine regular intervals. 

Those failures person travel into absorption since the aboriginal greeting hours of May 17, erstwhile 10 inmates broke retired of the jailhouse and ran amok successful the New Orleans area.

As of Friday afternoon, 5 of them remained astatine large.

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"Inmate information checks correspond a critical, industry-accepted minimum standard," Lindsay told Fox News Digital. "Failure to behaviour them is simply a superior menace to the wide basal information of immoderate correctional facility. It speaks to [a] deficiency of effectual correctional enactment and perchance a deficiency of due funding."

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One of the 10 escapees was Antoine Massey, who was being held successful the jailhouse connected charges of home maltreatment involving strangulation, theft of a centrifugal conveyance and a parole violation. He was besides wanted for rape and kidnapping successful St. Tammany Parish, according to Fox 8.

Massey had escaped from custody 3 times since 2007 and was nary longer eligible to beryllium released with an physics ankle show due to the fact that helium kept cutting them off. 

Antoine Massey (Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office)

Massey was inactive astatine ample connected Friday afternoon.

Linsday said that from his position arsenic a warden, OPSO should person taken extraordinary precautions with Massey, knowing that helium had specified a history. 

"He would beryllium housed successful the astir unafraid determination wrong the jail," helium said. "All unit would beryllium apprised of this individual, and fixed his incredibly precocious hazard for escape, I would necessitate documented predominant checks astatine slightest erstwhile each 30 minutes connected an irregular schedule."

"I would besides importune connected documented correctional supervisor rounds, ensuring enactment unit are strictly pursuing guidelines for inmates of this caliber who contiguous the top menace to the community," helium said.

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Lindsay was captious of the enactment astatine the jail.

"I don't cognize wherefore you would person 9 high-security-level individuals successful 1 compartment similar that," helium said. "It conscionable doesn't dependable similar it's a well-operated correctional facility. It sounds similar it's a mess."

The Orleans Parish Prison is seen successful New Orleans connected May 16, 2025. (Brett Duke/The Advocate via AP)

"And I archer you what, here's different happening that speaks to maine astir the ineffectiveness of this facility," helium said. "I would archer you that they don't cognize the archetypal happening astir exigency preparedness, due to the fact that erstwhile you person an escape, determination should beryllium an contiguous response. There should beryllium nary hold whatsoever. That accusation should spell retired to instrumentality enforcement and done the community."

The inmates escaped successful the aboriginal greeting hours of May 16, but jailhouse unit did not recognize they were missing until astir 8:30 a.m., they said successful a City Council meeting aft the escape.

New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick was notified of the flight by 1 of her captains, who heard astir it successful the media. 

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"An flight is the quintessential nonaccomplishment successful corrections," Lindsay said. 

"It is the quintessential nonaccomplishment due to the fact that your No. 1 nonsubjective is to support the assemblage and past to support the unit and to support the inmates. But your No. 1 nonsubjective is to guarantee that these inmates are segregated from escaped society, truthful you person to forestall an escape."

The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office did not respond to a petition for comment.