Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson is facing 30 felony counts related to a 2025 jailbreak in which 10 inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans.
A special grand jury indicted the sheriff after a state investigation into one of the largest inmate breakouts in recent U.S. history.
ABC News reported that the 30-count indictment charges Hutson with 14 counts of malfeasance in office, four counts of conspiracy to commit malfeasance, as well as multiple counts of filing or maintaining false public records and obstruction of justice.
Prosecutors are also levied 20 felony charges against Bianka Brown, the chief financial officer for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office on similar allegations. The judge set Hutson’s bond at $300,000 and Brown’s at $200,000 and ordered both defendants to surrender their passports and remain in Louisiana.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Hutson has been indicted on 30 felony counts over the 2025 escape of 10 inmates, with prosecutors alleging her office failed to prevent the jailbreak and later tried to cover it up. pic.twitter.com/oxLCvIs5J0
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 30, 2026
The charges are the result of a May 16, 2025 incident in which 10 inmates fled the jail by climbing through a hole behind a toilet in their cell. They took advantage of faulty locks, removed bathroom fixtures, and crawled through bars they had sawed through. They scaled a fence before guards realized they had vacated the premises.
The escapees included people facing several charges, including murder and armed robbery. The authorities later apprehended the inmates after a multiweek manhunt that covered parts of Louisiana and Texas.
🚨NEW ORLEANS — Just days before her term was set to end, outgoing Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson and her chief financial officer were hit with a sweeping grand jury indictment following an investigation into last year's massive jailbreak.
— Amy Leigh (@IAmyLeigh) May 1, 2026
FULL INDICTMENT 👇🏽… pic.twitter.com/32ackyXUIl
Before escaping, the inmates left graffiti on the wall that read, “To Easy LoL” near the hole from which they escaped. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill asked for a special grand jury after the breakout. Prosecutors allege that Hutson’s alleged poor management and falsified records about staffing and security created the conditions that made it easy for the inmates to exit the facility.
Outgoing Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson was charged Wednesday (April 29) in a 30-count indictment alleging malfeasance and payroll fraud, according to Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office. https://t.co/mbC4ahiocq pic.twitter.com/fJE6O9hdBg
— FOX 8 New Orleans (@FOX8NOLA) April 29, 2026
The allegations center in part on how Hutson allegedly ran the jail before and during the escape. Investigators say they found that she failed to adequately secure the facility and address issues such as broken locks, understaffing, and weak supervision.
Hutson and her team are also accused of filing or maintaining false public records after the jailbreak. Prosecutors also allege that Hutson covered up crimes related to the escape and impeded the investigation.
The Orleans Parish jail has been under federal oversight since 2013 due to longstanding problems with violence, corruption, and unconstitutional living conditions. Even though it received tens of millions of dollars, it still has issues with staffing shortages, lax supervision, and a rise in “internal escapes” where inmates managed to sneak into unauthorized areas inside the facility.