PUNISHED
PROTESTERS
in Baton Rouge

Conditions in East
Baton Rouge Parish Prison

The Prom
of Justice
Initiative

the PROMISE
of JUSTICE

INITIATIVE

the Promise
of Justice

the PROMISE
PUNISHED
PROTESTERS:
of JUSTICE

Initiative

Conditions in East Baton
INITIATIVE
Rouge Parish Prison

the Promise o

Erica Navalance and Andrea Armstrong

1

the PROMISE
of JUSTICE

July 2017
INITIATIVE

The Promise of Justice Initiative
636 Baronne Street
New Orleans, LA 70113
justicespromise.org
Cover Photograph
www.nola.com

Justice
Initiative

THE
OF

Promise
Justice
Initiative

PUNISHED PROTESTERS:
Conditions in East Baton
Rouge Parish Prison
Executive Summary

2

Methodology

4

Introduction

5

Jenna’s Story

6

Background and Legal Standard

8

Unconstitutional Conditions of Confinement

9

Excessive Use of Force
Intimidation and Racism
Physical Violence
Denial of Medical Care
Arrest-Related Medical Denials
Routine Treatment Medical Denials
Systemic Medical Deprivations
Inhumane Conditions
Unsanitary Conditions
Temperature and Lack of Adequate Supplies
Lack of Access to Water and Food
Lack of Access to Telephone

9
9
11
12
12
13
14
17
17
18
18
19

Overcrowding

20

Deliberate Humiliation

22

Conclusion
Recommended Reading
About the Promise of Justice Initiative

24
25
26

1

Executive Summary
T

he arrest and detention of approximately
180 individuals protesting the police
killing of Alton Sterling provided a distressing
window into the actual conditions of East
Baton Rouge Parish Prison. On July 5, 2016,
two Baton Rouge police officers tasered,
tackled, shot, and killed Alton Sterling, a Black
man who was selling CDs outside of a local
convenience store. The weekend following Mr.
Sterling’s killing, thousands of people gathered
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to peacefully
protest the murder of Mr. Sterling, as well as
nationwide police brutality, primarily against
Black men. Over 67% of these arrestees were
Black, and nearly 90% of those arrested were
charged with obstruction of a highway. Most
of the protesters were booked, processed, and
held at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison,
sometimes for days.
This report details the conditions of
the prison, the experiences of the arrested
protesters, and the governing legal standards
for detention of arrestees, based on more than
a dozen interviews conducted on July 11th and
12th of 2016 and June 2017, in conjunction
with prison policy manuals, local and national
statistics, and independent investigations and
studies into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
Each person retains basic human rights
under Louisiana and federal law, even when
arrested and imprisoned. If police detain an
individual, the correctional facility is required

2

by law to provide a safe environment with
basic sanitary needs, medical care, and access
to a lawyer and a telephone. An arrest for any
offense, much less for actions involving civic
engagement, should not, constitutionally, be
punitive. Under the Due Process Clause of
the U.S. Constitution, a prison guard’s actions
are punitive when they are unnecessary or
unrelated to a legitimate penological goal.
Through the eyes of these protesters, we
see the inhumane and punitive conditions at
East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, including:
	 • Excessive use of force: At least seven
individual accounts described large groups
of inmates being pepper sprayed for various
reasons, none of which included threats to
officer or prison safety, in violation of the
law and established policies. There is not a
single report of violence or threats by the
detainees. Protesters were also threatened
with losing access to phones, losing their
court date hearing, or being sprayed with
“mace” if they spoke at a normal volume.
At least two protesters noted that officers
were openly racist, and made clear that
the abusive treatment the protesters were
receiving was punishment for their protest.
	• Denial of Medical Care: In seven
interviews, at least twenty-one instances of
inadequate or outright denial of medical
treatment were experienced or observed.
Jail staff refused or provided inadequate

treatment for injuries sustained during arrest,
including two head traumas, as well as for
arrestees’ pre-existing medical conditions,
including diabetes. The punitive denial of
adequate medical care to arrested protesters is
emblematic of the poor medical care generally
available in the prison due to lack of training,
staff, procedures, and space.
	• Inhumane Conditions: Detainees
were housed in unsanitary cells caked with
grime and blood, denied access to drinking
water, and some lacked access to basic supplies
including tampons, soap, running water, and
toothbrushes. They described receiving only
thin clothing despite the constant mechanical
cooling, being held without access to the
basic sanitary requirement of toilet paper, and
being denied a free phone call at the prison.
	• Overcrowding: At least two-thirds of
the detainees interviewed reported extremely
cramped housing for extended periods of
time. A male detainee described spending
an entire night in a 12 by 12 foot holding
cell with twenty-six people, without nearly
enough space for everyone to sit or lay down
and without any bedding. A female detainee
spent over five hours in a cell with two benches
and twenty-four women. While some of this
overcrowding was likely due to operational
capacity, it was at least in part retaliatory;
one detainee reports being crammed into a
holding cell with forty or fifty other people
even though he could see two completely
empty cells available.
	• Deliberate Humiliation: At least five
people detail strip searches they or their fellow
detainees endured, most often in front of
other inmates. Both men and women describe

degrading group strip searches in which
they were forced to remove their clothes in
front of anywhere from six to fifteen other
people. The seventeen-year-old, deliberately
housed separately from her mother but with
other adults, was strip-searched in a group
of six women. At least two women were
strip searched twice during their one-day
detentions, despite having no contact with
the outside world in between the searches.
One of these women, who was a woman of
color, was required to remove and surrender
her bra permanently, allegedly due to a
metal underwire; multiple white women
with underwire bras were allowed to keep
their bras on.
The experiences of these protesters,
sustained over several days in some cases,
speaks to the unconstitutional conditions
endured by tens of thousands of others who
are arrested and detained in the parish prison.
In addition to substandard conditions, the
East Baton Rouge Parish Prison appears to
encourage or at least tolerate abusive and
humiliating conduct by guards. The manner in
which East Baton Rouge Parish Prison treated
those protesting police misconduct bears an
uncanny resemblance to the treatment of those
fighting for civil rights over half a century ago.
Unfortunately, this report reflects the treatment
of detainees in the East Baton Rouge Parish
Prison when the whole world was watching.

3

Methodology
T

his report relies on a variety of sources
and features more than a dozen first-hand
accounts and affidavits taken from detainees
who spent at least one night in the East Baton
Rouge Parish Prison following the peaceful
protests in Baton Rouge in early July, 2016.
These protests occurred as a result of the
increasing publicity of police brutality across
the country, including the police killing of
Alton Sterling on July 5, 2016. These accounts
describe in detail the conditions of the East
Baton Rouge Parish Prison, the personal and
eyewitness experiences of these detainees, as
well as second-hand accounts from men and
women who had been detained in the prison
before the protesters arrived. Many of the
people who contributed to this report were
brutally arrested and charged with low-level
misdemeanors – such as “obstruction of a
highway” – and some report that their arrest
paperwork was pre-printed with these charges.
This report also relies on resources
produced by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff ’s
Office, the government agency responsible for
overseeing and maintaining the East Baton
Rouge Parish Prison. These resources include
policy manuals, self-reporting statistics on the
prison’s website, and the online inmate roster
which is constantly updated with the names of
the prison’s detainees.
Finally, this report references objective
sources produced externally to assess

4

conditions in the East Baton Rouge Parish
Prison, such as a comprehensive report on
the clinical operations at the prison prepared
by Health Management Associates (HMA)
and a survey from the Association of State
Correctional Administrators, among others.
These sources contextualize the experiences
of those incarcerated in Baton Rouge, and
demonstrate how conditions in East Baton
Rouge Parish Prison fall short of nationwide
best practices.
Taken together, these sources demonstrate
that the conditions in the East Baton Rouge
Parish Prison unlawfully impose punishment
on detainees. For the peaceful protesters
arrested in July 2016, this punishment included
not only unconstitutional hardship but also
grave humiliation.

KAREN SAVAGE

Introduction
T

he arrest and detention of approximately
180 individuals protesting the police
killing of Alton Sterling provided a distressing
window into the actual conditions of East
Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Through the eyes
of these protesters, we see the inhumane and
punitive conditions endured by arrestees,
including physical violence and denial of basic
sanitation and medical care. The experiences
of these protesters, sustained over several
days in some cases, speaks to the conditions
endured by tens of thousands of others who
are arrested and detained in the parish prison.2
On July 5, 2016, two Baton Rouge police
officers tasered, tackled, shot, and killed Alton
Sterling, a Black man who was selling CDs
outside a local convenience store.3 Despite

an investigation that revealed that one officer
shot Sterling three times in the chest, paused,
then shot him three more times in the back,
the US Department of Justice declined to bring
federal charges against either officer.4 A full
year after the murder of Alton Sterling, the two
officers involved continue on paid leave while a
Baton Rouge Police Department investigation
remains open5 and the Louisiana Attorney
General conducts a state investigation.6
The weekend following Mr. Sterling’s
killing, thousands of people gathered in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana to peacefully protest the
murder of Mr. Sterling, as well as nationwide
police brutality, primarily against Black men.
Somewhere between 180 and 200 civil rights
demonstrators were arrested during the protests
from July 8th through 10th, 2016.7 Over 67% of
these arrestees were Black, and nearly 90% of
those arrested were charged with obstruction
of a highway.8 Most of the protesters were
booked, processed, and held at the East Baton
Rouge Parish Prison, sometimes for days.
This report details the conditions of
the prison, the experiences of the arrested
protesters, and the governing legal standards
for detention of arrestees, based on more than
a dozen interviews conducted on July 11th and
12th of 2016 and June 2017, in conjunction
with prison policy manuals, local and national
statistics, and independent investigations and
studies into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

5

Jenna’s Story
W

hen Jenna Finkle was twenty-five years
old, she spent twenty-five hours in the
East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. At about
7:35 pm, while attending a peaceful protest
on July 10, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a
large male officer tackled Jenna from the side
and placed her under arrest, throwing her
backpack and cell phones onto the lawn. When
Jenna asked at least four different officers why
she was being arrested and requested that
someone retrieve her property, officers told her
it was “not their problem”9 and it was her fault

Once Jenna was processed, she was taken
to a holding cell around 9:00 pm, where she
remained for the next six hours. The cell was
designed to hold a maximum of ten people;
during Jenna’s confinement, there were
consistently between seventeen and twentyfour other people in the cell. No one could lie
down and most detainees could not even find
space to sit. The cell was so tight that women
sat on the ground right next to the toilets,
which had to be used without any privacy.
Jenna waited out the night crammed in with

A male guard came to the cell with pepper spray in his hand and
ordered everyone to stop singing or he would spray them all.
for protesting. Over an hour and a half after
her initial arrest, Jenna was processed into the
East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
Before she was even booked, officers took
all of the detainees’ property, including Jenna’s
eyeglasses. The entire time she was detained,
Jenna could not see more than a few feet in
front of her or recognize other people. Jenna
had to fill out all of her booking and release
paperwork without being able to read it.
Officers ignored her repeated requests for
her glasses. Jenna spent her night in prison
surrounded by strangers and guards she could
not see.

6

her cellmates, unable to sleep.
A few of the women began singing to keep
their spirits up. A male guard came to the cell
with pepper spray in his hand and ordered
everyone to stop singing or he would spray
them all. Later, pepper spray that was being
excessively sprayed into another holding cell
drifted down the hall and spread throughout
Jenna’s cell. Many women began coughing and
their eyes and throats burned. Finally, around
3:00 am, Jenna was taken to general population
with several others from her holding cell.
Before being moved to general population,

Jenna was strip searched in a group of ten to
fifteen women. All the women had to remove all
their clothes, then squat down entirely naked.
The search in front of so many strangers was
humiliating. Jenna was never given a reasonfor
these searches.
The general population cell was even worse

Jenna’s bond hearing was at 1:30 pm that
day; the charges on her bond paperwork had
been pre-printed and looked just like everyone
else’s. Afterward, Jenna was taken back to
general population, but not before a second
group strip search. Jenna wasn’t released until
8:30 pm on July 11, 2016, at which point her

Jenna had to fill out all of her booking and release paperwork
without being able to read it. Officers ignored her repeated
requests for her glasses.
than the holding cell. The air conditioning was
set so low that the cell was freezing cold and
everyone was immobilized. No one had been
given socks. Bedding was limited to a torn
blanket per person.
Although there were several phones
available, different officers gave conflicting
information about whether arrestees could
use the phones. Despite asking multiple times,
Jenna and those booked with her were never
given the pin numbers necessary to make
phone calls from a correctional facility.10 Some
women who had been in the prison prior to
the protests also said the phones were offline
for hours at a time, so even detainees with pins
couldn’t use them consistently.
No one was given soap, toilet paper, towels,
or a toothbrush. No one explained the prison’s
rules to any of the arrestees. Jenna did her best
to learn the prison rules from other women
so she would not get in trouble. Arrestees
were repeatedly reprimanded for unknown
infractions.

glasses were finally returned to her. When
she asked for her glasses to read the release
paperwork she was asked to sign, officers
refused; when she squinted and brought the
paperwork inches from her face so she could
determine what she was signing, officers
taunted her.
Ultimately, Jenna was wrongfully charged
with two misdemeanor crimes: obstruction of
a highway despite being arrested on private
property, and resisting arrest despite being
blindsided and tackled by an officer. No one
ever read Jenna her Miranda rights. She was
stuffed into an overcrowded cell for hours,
publicly strip searched, placed in a freezing cell
overnight without basic sanitary necessities,
and rendered effectively blind for over a full day,
all before ever seeing a judge or being advised
of the reason for her arrest and detention. The
lesson from law enforcement to Jenna is clear:
if you exercise your rights to protest our use of
force, we will arrest you, incarcerate you, and
humiliate you.11

7

Background and
Legal Standard
E

ach person retains basic human rights
under Louisiana and federal law, even
when arrested and imprisoned. If police
detain an individual, the correctional facility is
required by law to provide a safe environment
with basic sanitary needs, medical care, and
access to a lawyer and a telephone. An arrest
for any offense, much less for actions involving
civic engagement, should not, constitutionally,
be punitive.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Prison is
responsible for housing every person who has
been booked or is awaiting trial within the 19th
Judicial District of Louisiana, as well as some
who have been sentenced.12 The prison, then,
is a mix of a small number of people who have
been found guilty of an offense and are serving
their sentence and hundreds who have been
arrested but have not yet had a final resolution
in their cases.
Each person who has not yet been
adjudicated – whether awaiting their first
appearance so they may post bond, trial,
or another determination of their case – is
considered a detainee. This is the vast majority
of the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison;
approximately 89% of those incarcerated there
are pre-adjudication, and the average length
of time a detainee stays is almost thirty-two
days.13 87.5% of those incarcerated are black,
whose average stay is nearly fifteen days longer
than white detainees for both violent and non-

8

violent crimes.14 The presumption of innocence
protects all of these detainees. Due process also
dictates that these pre-adjudicated detainees
be protected from punishment.
In Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520 (1979),
the Supreme Court made clear that under the
Due Process Clause, a person who has not
yet been fully adjudicated as guilty cannot
be “punished.”15 What specific actions are
deemed punishment have been developing in
our case law through the years, but the same
standard has always applied; if a restriction or
condition is arbitrary or purposeless and not
reasonably related to a legitimate non-punitive
governmental goal, the government may not
subject detainees to such conditions.16 If the
government actor does not display an express
intent to punish, then the courts will look
for whether there is an alternate purpose to
their action, and whether this action appears
excessive compared to the purpose for such
action.17
Simply put, a prison guard’s actions
are excessive when they are unnecessary or
unrelated to a legitimate penological goal. Such
actions are punitive and violate a detainee’s
right to due process. Officers may only take
corrective actions that are deemed necessary to
maintain a function of the facility, such as to
ensure the safety of officers or detainees. This
report analyzes the conditions of the East Baton
Rouge Parish Prison under this standard.

Unconstitutional Conditions
of Confinement

Excessive Use of Force
“I heard an officer threaten a man, saying
‘Somebody is going to get shot tonight.’”18

N

early every detainee interviewed
recounted at least one account of the
unnecessarily cruel and harsh treatment
detainees received while incarcerated. In a
number of instances, officers in East Baton
Rouge Parish Prison engaged in open and
unnecessary brutality. Race was omnipresent in
interactions between arrestees and prison staff,
which is particularly troubling given the racial
dimensions of the murder of Alton Sterling and
recent claims of police brutality nationwide.
The brutality included threats of violence
against the detainees and the indiscriminate
use of pepper spray in violation of the law and
established policies for the prison.

INTIMIDATION AND RACISM
Some detainees stated that officers “treated
them like animals,”19 while others claimed they
were outright ignored.20 Officers threatened to
“knock [their] asses off ” if the detainees made
any noise above a whisper21 and protesters were
threatened with a range of punishment such as
losing access to phones, losing their court date

hearing, or being sprayed with “mace” if they
spoke at a normal volume.22 When one woman
rhetorically asked out loud, “How many people
are going to be killed before we wake up?,” an
officer responded by staring threateningly at
her and responding, “As many as needed.” He
then maintained eye contact with her as she
was taken to her holding cell, like “he wanted
to do something to [her].”23
At least two protesters noted that officers
were openly racist and made clear that the
abusive treatment protesters were receiving
was punishment for their protest:
“I also saw police harass a white man
in his late 20s or early 30s who had told me
he was a librarian at Tulane University. A
tall, white police officer with dark blond
hair in a Mohawk haircut told him: “I can
tell what type of person you is; why are
you out here with them?” I guess he was
mad because the man was white and with
us. The officer snatched papers from this
librarian’s hands very aggressively, lifted
him, pushed him down, and moved him
around very roughly.”24
Another officer “constantly berated and
demeaned the prisoners” and referred to one
of the units as a slave plantation.25 One of the

9

detainees noted that “it seemed to me that the
white prison staff members were angry at us.”26
Another woman described being arrested
and hauled off to the prison with her daughter
while her five-year-old son was left in the
car alone.27 She was then deliberately kept in
a separate holding cell from her seventeenyear-old daughter, despite their pleas to be
kept together.28 This general air of hostility
and intimidation manifested in specific,
measurable instances of brutality as well.

PHYSICAL VIOLENCE
“I overheard people in a different
holding cell singing gospel songs and being
told that they would be maced as a result.
A few seconds later, everybody in my
holding cell started coughing and our eyes
started burning. We could barely breathe
and assume they had been maced.”29
“When we were being processed out
in Central Booking one of the guards told
us to be quiet or he would pepper spray us.
There were about 30 guys in the cell at the

The East Baton Rouge Sheriff ’s Office
Policy and Procedure Manual outlines when
deputies are authorized to use “less than
lethal weapons,” which include Freeze Plus-P
CS/OC spray (commonly known as pepper
spray). This Freeze Plus-P spray, advertised
on the manufacturer’s website as “the most
intense, incapacitating agent available today,”
contains a red pepper oil that causes coughing,
a burning sensation on the skin, and watering
in the eyes.32 “The strong respiratory effects of
OC combined with the severe pain induced
by CS magnify each other.”33 According to
the prison’s policy and procedure manual, an
officer may only use pepper spray if necessary
to:
1.
Protect themselves or others from
physical harm;
2. Restrain or subdue a resistant individual;
or
3. Bring an unlawful situation safely and
effectively under control.34
This policy balances the need to deploy
non-lethal force in specific situations with
the rights and physical safety of the public.

About 30 minutes after the first time the guard pepper sprayed
us, one of the other guards said “Hit them again.”
time. About 30 minutes after the first time
the guard pepper sprayed us, one of the
other guards said “Hit them again.” The
same guard pepper sprayed us again…we
didn’t receive any medical attention.”30
“Lynn Smith, a protestor with me, was
maced in the face even though he was not
being violent at all.”31

10

Physical force must be applied “in a a good
faith effort to maintain or restore discipline”
when there is a “disturbance that indisputably
poses significant risks to the safety of inmates
and prisoner staff.”35 However, when officers
“maliciously and sadistically use force to cause
harm, contemporary standards of decency
always are violated.”36 The courts are clear:

physical force, including using chemical gas,
can only be used to prevent serious safety
risks and must only be used when necessary to
promote control. It may not be used as a form
of punishment.
Unfortunately, these guidelines were
blatantly disregarded in the East Baton Rouge
Parish Prison. At least seven individual
accounts described large groups of inmates

you will be gassed.”42
As further proof of an intent to maliciously
punish, the prison did not provide any medical
care to anyone exposed (directly or indirectly)
to the pepper spray, according to one
account. This is in direct contradiction with
the East Baton Rouge Sheriff ’s policy, which
requires that when an officer accidentially or
intentionally causes injury with less lethal force,

When some women began singing, a guard holding spray said
“you will stop singing or you will be gassed.”
being pepper sprayed for various reasons, none
of which included threats to officer or prison
safety.37 There is not a single report of violence
or threats by the detainees. A few people
described officers pepper spraying a group
of detainees singing gospel songs to pass the
time.38 Another detainee reported an officer
“macing” several people for clapping as their
fellow detainees were being released.39 Officers
used the chemical sprays indiscriminately on
groups, as compared to directing the spray at
one specific alleged threat. The chemical spray
was so intense that detainees down the hall
experienced coughing, choking, and burning
eyes.40 Even officers had to step outside to get
fresh air because of the excessive spray.41 The
pepper spray was being discharged maliciously
in these instances and used as a means of
intimidation and punishment rather than in
response to an actual threat to anyone’s safety.
Several female detainees described a guard
blatantly using the threat of pepper spray to
punish constitutionally protected behavior;
when some women began singing, a guard
holding spray said “you will stop singing or

he or she shall “request necessary emergency
medical aid.”44 Despite this clear procedure,
no one was seen by medical personnel. This
failure to provide necessary medical treatment
for detainees’ burning eyes, throats, and skin is
part of a larger failure to provide any medical
care for detainees’ injuries and pre-existing
conditions.

11

Denial of Medical Care
“A diabetic woman asked for water or
a peppermint, but she was also told
no… [w]hile we were being processed,
the diabetic woman, who was crying,
requested immediate food, saying that
she needed it fast. Finally, a police officer
brought her a handful of cookie crumbs
crumpled up in his hand.”45

T

he deprivation of adequate medical care,
or indeed any care at all, at the East Baton
Rouge Parish Prison is profoundly troubling.
“A prison that deprives prisoners of basic
sustenance, including adequate medical care, is
incompatible with the concept of human dignity
and has no place in civilized society.”46 Yet,
seven of the twelve people interviewed detail
the prison’s failure to acknowledge necessary
medical care or emergencies, insufficient
resources, and deliberate indifference. In

Officers met requests for medical assistance
with derision or contempt.

ARREST-RELATED MEDICAL
DENIALS
Eleven of the twenty-one observed
instances of inadequate medical care were
related to injuries sustained by the detainees
during their arrests.
Staff at the prison denied medical care to
one detainee who had suffered a concussion
during his arrest. The detainee had been
knocked out by the police with a blow to the
head during his arrest. Prior to being booked
in the prison, and despite discouragement
from officers, the detainee insisted on hospital
treatment and ultimately needed several
stitches. After the hospital, he was taken to East
Baton Rouge Parish Prison, where he asked

Even though he requested medical attention multiple times,
prison officials refused to provide medical consultation or
treatment.
seven interviews, at least twenty-one instances
of inadequate or outright denial of medical
treatment were experienced or observed.47

12

to see a doctor three separate times. At the
prison, he was nauseous and scared, but had
no information about his medical condition

because the doctors had only communicated
with the police officers even though he was
handcuffed nearby. Each time he requested
medical assistance in the prison, he was
ignored. The prison did not respond to his
medical complaints, even though prison staff
knew he had suffered a concussion. It was not
until he was released over a day later that he
learned he had suffered a concussion during
his arrest.48
Another young woman was booked into
the prison after sustaining an arrest-related
head injury. During her arrest, a police officer
stepped on her head, resulting in swelling and
deep bruises as she entered East Baton Rouge
Parish Prison. During her detention, she began
feeling disoriented and couldn’t see clearly.
Her eyes had trouble tracking the fingers of

a fellow cellmate who was trying to help. The
detainee’s requests for medical attention were
met with various responses, from neglect to
outright hostility. It became clear that denial
of medical treatment was a way to punish
the arrestees for protesting the Baton Rouge
Police Department’s excessive use of force
against Alton Sterling. When a medic finally
examined her after several pleas for help, he

ROUTINE TREATMENT
MEDICAL DENIALS
Ten of the twenty-one medical denials
were for conditions not related to arrest, but
required some sort of evaluation or treatment
that was not provided. Prison officials could
have easily provided the requested medical
care, but deliberately denied or delayed medical

KAREN SAVAGE

13

care for the arrestees. A diabetic woman was
refused food or water until she was nearly in
diabetic shock.54 After hours of complaining
about her spiraling blood sugar levels and
requesting help, she was eventually given a few
cookie crumbs by a guard.55 Another woman
was denied medication for a gout attack in
her arm, which is a type of arthritis that can
cause attacks of sudden burning pain, stiffness,
and swelling in joints. She had an existing
prescription in her purse, which could have
been easily verified by prison staff. Prison
staff also failed to accommodate her medical
complaints when they assigned her a top bunk
which, because of her medical condition,
she could not reach.56 Women who had been
arrested before the protests told the protesters
that they were routinely denied regular meals,
prescription and non-prescription medication,
and access to visitors.57

SYSTEMIC MEDICAL
DEPRIVATIONS
The punitive denial of medical attention
for both arrest-related and routine medical
conditions is emblematic of poor medical care
generally available in the prison. One arrestee
reported meeting two pregnant women who
had been at the prison for at least several days
prior to the protests; neither were getting the
appropriate diet or necessary pre-natal care.58
One of these pregnant women said the prison
refused to even give her a pregnancy test
in order not to have to record her as being
pregnant at all.59
These experiences show that the reality of
being booked and held in the East Baton Rouge

14

Parish Prison is in stark contrast to the prison’s
official policy. In a 2016 study, prison officials
maintained:
“The arrestee is then submitted to
a pat down and an informal interview
regarding immediate medical needs...
If more immediate medical attention is
necessary, the offender will typically be
escorted to the nearest hospital by the
arresting officer for assistance. The Prison
also has nurses on hand to assist with less
immediate and more common medical
needs.
…
Each offender is filtered through
Classification, which interviews each
arrestee to learn more about their
criminal history, personal lives, medical
histories and charges to best determine
where in the Prison that inmate should be
assigned… before moving on to a medical
screening with Prison nurses. After the
medical screen, the prisoner is moved to
his assigned place within the prison.”60
This policy claims that each person booked
into the prison receives multiple evaluations,
a chance to go to the hospital if they have
serious medical issues, and ample nurses and
staff on hand to analyze medical histories and
provide medical care. However, not one person
interviewed recalled a medical screening,
interview, or evaluation at any time in their
booking or classification process.
Detainees have a constitutional right
to receive medical evaluation and care.61
However, the medical care available in the
East Baton Rouge Parish Prison is not just well
below the legal standard; it is well below the

medical community’s standard as well.
In February 2016, the Mayor of Baton
Rouge initiated a study conducted by an
independent group of health care professionals
from Health Management Associates (HMA)
to assess the provision of medical care at
the prison. The team included a physician, a

physician had ordered for them.67 The physical
environment inside the prison was also wholly
deficient. There were inadequate medical units,
dental units, and screening spaces, and the
housing units themselves are poorly designed
for observing detainees who may be having
medical or mental health issues.68 Not only

In effect, this deficient system operates as a total bar to proper
medical care for many who are detained at East Baton Rouge
Parish Prison.
nurse practitioner, and a clinical psychologist,
together representing “decades of community
and correctional health and inmate population
management experience.”62 HMA conducted
over fifty interviews and reviewed thousands of
pages of documents to inform their evaluation.63
In June 2016, just before many of the detainees
in this report arrived at the prison, HMA
presented their report and recommendations on
the clinical operations at the East Baton Rouge
Parish Prison.64
Overall, the HMA consultants concluded
that the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison would
definitively not pass the standards of the National
Commission on Correctional Health Care.65
The prison has only one medical doctor for
the entire facility. Considering the other duties
assigned to the one physician, the prison’s sole
doctor was operating at only 60% capacity.
Given the prison’s average population, which is
almost always at or above design capacity, this
one medical provider could only meet 36% of
the actual need of the detainees.66 The HMA also
found that nearly a fifth of the inmate population
was not receiving the medication that the prison

was there insufficient infirmary space,69 but the
HMA also found there was actually “no true
infirmary” within the facility.70
From the time detainees enter the
prison door, they are effectively guaranteed
inadequate medical care. HMA emphasized
that the detainee medical evaluation, which
should be the first step in the booking process,
is a critical process (emphasis in original) and
should be happening 100% of the time.71 This
process should include intake questions such
as “do you need to see a doctor?” and “are
you on any medications?”72 Yet, the detainee
accounts in this report clearly demonstrate that
the prison did not provide any intake medical
evaluation. Even when medical assistance was
requested, it was denied. This is consistent with
HMA’s findings that the “majority of detainees
are not offered follow-up medical visits based
on health service request.”73
HMA found that medical evaluation
process only occurred for 88% of the people
booked into Baton Rouge Parish Prison and
often only after significant delays. Not only is
this problematic on its face, as HMA stressed

15

this process should never be missed, but they
note that often these evaluations didn’t take
place for twenty-four to thirty-six or more hours
after intake.74 This unacceptable delay endangers
not only those who are on set prescribed
medications, but those who need an emergency
evaluation or time-sensitive care.
In effect, this deficient system operates as a
total bar to proper medical care for many who
are detained at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
The bare numbers make this strikingly clear:
the prison’s own report for May 2016 “showed
646 inmates were released without any record
of medical care and the average number of days
they were incarcerated was 80 days.”75
Perhaps what is most evident from both
the report and the detainees’ experiences is the
profound inability or intentional hostility of
prison officials who are tasked with providing
medical care. The HMA report found that the
prison staff lacked any experienced health
administrators,76 and their primary finding was
that the “current leadership [is] not capable of
taking EBR Prison where they need to go.”77
The failure of individual guards to respond
appropriately to detainees’ medical complaints
is unsurprising in light of HMA’s findings. The
HMA report notes the East Baton Rouge Parish
Prison healthcare “policies, protocols and
standards of care are not accessible to staff or
distributed, updated or kept current; some have
not been reviewed or updated in 10+ years, or
tailored to the EBR Parish Prison facility.”78 This
means officers, medics, and any other officials
the detainees encountered had no standard
operating procedure when one of the 1,500
plus daily inmates makes a medical complaint,
an event that cannot be uncommon. Moreover,

16

HMA found that documentation of any
previous care within the prison or even whether
the detainee was medically evaluated is either
entirely absent or considered unreliable.79 At a
minimum, the HMA report raises the question
of whether the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison
adequately trains its staff to respond to medical
complaints.
This lack of training is anecdotally clear
based on the experiences of the detainees.
When one woman requested medical help
multiple times, a guard claimed she had already
seen a medic even though she had not. That
same guard then claimed there were no medics
in the building when there was at least one
visible from the cell.80 Several other detainees
reported that officers appeared confused and
detainees received very different information
(or no information) depending on whom
they asked.81 Many detainees reported being
ignored altogether by prison staff.82
The ultimate findings and recommendations
the HMA presented are scathing. Among
them, HMA states that current leadership is
woefully inadequate, unacceptable staffing
vacancies persist, available positions have
no functional job descriptions, and the staff
have no systematic procedures in place to
address (or even document) detainee medical
complaints.83 Overall, there is not a single
person currently on staff who is “focused
on instituting a quality program.”84 All of
HMA’s findings, which demonstrate that the
operations at the East Baton Rouge Parish
Prison are well below constitutional standards,
are well-supported by the experiences of the
detainees interviewed for this report.

Inhumane Conditions
“We spent the night with 26 of us in
the one cell without any bedding. Because
of the crowded space and thin jumpsuits
we were wearing, many stood throughout
the night because it was too cold and
cramped to lay on the floor. After several
hours we were finally given one cooler
of water that only provided a four ounce
cone of water per person. We were not
given any food for the first ten and a half
hours of our detention. We were then fed
‘pancakes’ and a black meat substance.”85

T

he description of the unsanitary and unsafe
conditions at the East Baton Rouge Prison
is bleak at best. Detainees described receiving

the Fourteenth and Eighth Amendments.86
As each of these detainees had not yet even
had their first appearance before a court, the
punitive environment described is either a
result of retaliation or woefully inadequate
funding or planning.

UNSANITARY CONDITIONS
The holding cells were at least thirty or
forty years old,87 and there was dirt and blood
caked on the walls.88 The sinks were covered
in grime and the showers did not work.89 The
access to basic hygienic products was equally
abysmal. Many reported that neither the men’s
nor women’s cell bathrooms had any toilet

The holding cells were at least thirty or forty years old, and there
was dirt and blood caked on the walls.
only thin clothing despite the constant
mechanical cooling, being held without access
to the basic sanitary requirement of toilet
paper, and having food and water withheld,
all before any conviction of an alleged crime.
Even in post-adjudication contexts, courts
have held that similar conditions violate both

paper.90 The women’s bathrooms did not have
soap, and the men’s toilets did not even have
running water, exposing the cellmates to each
other’s waste.91 No one received a towel or a
toothbrush.92 The women found that there
were no tampons available.93

17

TEMPERATURE AND LACK
OF ADEQUATE SUPPLIES

LACK OF ACCESS TO
WATER AND FOOD

Many detainees reported that the cells were
kept freezing cold,94 and they could feel the cold
air blowing right onto them.95 It “felt like it was
40 degrees in there,”96 and no one could sleep,
restrained by how frigid it was even though
they were packed so tightly together.97 One
detainee heard from other women who had
been arrested previously that since the protests

At least four people interviewed described
being held without adequate access to food
or water. In Louisiana in July, daytime
temperatures are often over ninety degrees
outside, and many of the protesters had been
sweating in the unrelenting summer sun all
day before being taken to freezing cold holding
cells. Once arrested, they were no longer able

Once arrested, they were no longer able to hydrate; officers
withheld water from those detained despite their requests.
had begun in the city, the air conditioning had
been set so cold that it was difficult to get any
rest.98 At least one protester felt as though the
freezing cold temperature was deliberately used
as a form of social control; the cold air blowing
into the cells was immobilizing and kept the
inmates from moving or doing anything but
concentrating on staying warm.99
The dire conditions were compounded by
the shocking lack of supplies and the further
discovery that what supplies the prison
provided were woefully inadequate. Many
people did not get jackets100 or socks101 or
access to any blankets throughout the night.102
Those who did found that their blankets had
massive holes and rips throughout, rendering
them ineffective to combat the cold.103 The
detainees were also not insulated from the
cold concrete floor; there were nowhere near
enough bunks for everyone housed in the cell,
and not a single person reported receiving a
mat to sleep on.104

18

to hydrate; officers withheld water from those
detained despite their requests.105 When they
were finally given water, there was one cooler
for the entire cell, so each person ultimately
only got four ounces of water,106 and they had
to stretch their arms through the bars to reach
it.107
Despite being held for over a day, one
person reported being fed only once, and
missing lunch with several others because he
was made to watch a safety video about sexual
assault instead.108 The food served could not
possibly have met basic safety standards; the
chicken was raw and bleeding,109 and others
could not even identify the “black meat
substance” they were given after ten and a
half hours of incarceration.110 Meals were at
unconventional and disorienting hours; one
detainee reports being moved into general
population at 3:00 am and allowed to sleep
fewer than two hours before being fed at
5:15 am.111 The detainees were only given five

minutes to eat and whatever they could not
finish in that time had to be thrown away.

LACK OF ACCESS TO
TELEPHONE
According to detainees, the prison violated
its own policies regarding telephone access.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Prison policy
provides for one free phone call before a
detainee is placed in a holding cell.113 None of
the interviewed detainees were provided with
a free telephone call. In addition, the prison’s
policy requires that each detainee receive an
identification card and pin number, which can
then be used to make collect phone calls from
the prison.114 At least one person reported
never receiving a pin card to use the phones
at all.115

19

Overcrowding
“From approximately 9pm until
3am we were kept in a holding cell.
There were always at least 17 women in
the small holding cell, a maximum of
around 24. The cell had enough space for
approximately 8-10 people to sit. There
was not enough space for anyone to lie on
the ground, people were sitting or curled
up.”116

A

t least two-thirds of the detainees
interviewed reported extremely cramped
housing for extended periods of time. A male
detainee describes spending an entire night
in a 12 by 12 foot holding cell with twentysix people, without nearly enough space for
everyone to sit or lie down and without any
bedding.117 A female detainee spent over five
hours in a cell with two benches and twentyfour women.118 Many others report similar
circumstances; too many people, far too little
space.119 While some of this overcrowding was
likely due to operational capacity, it was at least
in part retaliatory; one detainee reports being
crammed into a holding cell with forty or fifty
other people even though he could see two
completely empty cells available.120

20

There was also either not enough space
to house all the detainees in appropriate
conditions or a deliberate misuse of housing
as punishment. A detainee who identified
as female requested to be housed in a female
cell, but was ignored or mocked by staff.121 A
mother and her seventeen-year-old daughter
were informed by an officer that they were
deliberately split from each other when they
were moved into general population, leaving
the underage daughter terrified and alone in
an adult prison overnight,122 in violation of
Louisiana law.123
The official numbers tell a similar story.
According to the most recently available East
Baton Rouge Sheriff ’s Office Annual Report
from 2014, the average daily inmate account
was 1,504.124 While at first glance this may
seem sufficient as it is ninety people under the
official operational capacity of 1,594,125 this
self-reporting statistic appears to be inaccurate;
a regular look at the official and consistently
updated prison roster shows that the number
of offenders very often exceeds 2,000.126 The
official capacity cap also includes space in the
administration segregation “lockdown areas,”
which are rusty, often inoperable areas of the

prison constructed in the 1960’s.127 During
a media tour of the prison, Warden Dennis
Grimes pointed out that many of the cells in
the older wing of the prison are absolutely
consumed by rust. He explained: “some of
the cell doors’ mechanisms are so rusted that
they can’t be open and shut, and the cells can
no longer be used [until parts can be found to
fix them]. The parts to replace the mechanisms
are so old that they’re hard to find.”128
The overcrowding issue at the prison is
getting worse year after year. A 2016 study
of the overcrowding of the East Baton Rouge
Parish Prison shows that the annual bookings
have increased 99% for males and 120.5%
for females.129 The same study found that
in addition to operating at or over capacity
much of the time, anywhere from 500 to 700
additional people are housed at out-of-parish
facilities on a daily basis, at an increased cost
to the city and parish.130

Apart from the obvious need for each
detainee to have adequate space to sit and
sleep if they are being detained overnight, this
level of overcrowding presents a serious safety
concern. According to a 2010 Association of
State Correctional Administrators survey of
twenty-nine different jurisdictions, the average
detainee to correctional officer/supervisor
rate is 5.1:1.131 Appropriate staff ratios are
critical in ensuring the safety of both detainees
and correctional staff. Conservatively, the
East Baton Rouge Parish Prison appears to
operate at a ratio of over 6.8 detainees for
every one security officer.132 Only six other
jurisdictions out of the twenty-nine surveyed
had ratios above this 6.8:1 figure. Clearly, the
lack of appropriate housing leads not only to
day-to-day discomfort and health issues, but
can also put a severe strain on the ability of
security personnel in the building to keep both
detainees and staff safe.

DIANA SAMUELS

21

Deliberate Humilation
“We were brought into a bathroom
and strip searched as a group. My gender
non-conforming
co-defendant
was
mocked by the guards for their ‘alternate
lifestyle.’ Another arrestee was mocked
and abused when the supervising
officer did not believe there was enough
compliance with the spreading of his butt
cheeks.”133

A

t least five people detail strip searches they
or their fellow detainees endured, most
often in front of other inmates.134 Both men
and women describe degrading group strip
searches, where they were forced to remove
their clothes in front of anywhere from six to

day detentions, despite having no contact with
the outside world in between the searches.137
One of these women, who is a woman of
color, was required to remove and surrender
her bra permanently, allegedly due to a metal
underwire; however, multiple white women
with underwire bras were allowed to keep their
bras on.138
Under the law, valid reasons exist for a
prison official to strip search a detainee even
if the arrest is for a minor offense.139 However,
each strip-search of a detainee requires a
particularized balancing of the need for
that specific search against the invasion of
personal rights that the search entails.140 The
Supreme Court has described the practice of

“At least two women were strip searched twice during their one
day detentions, despite having no contact with the outside world
in between the searches”
fifteen other people.135 The seventeen-year-old
who was still being held in the adult prison
away from her mother was strip searched in
a group of six women.136 At least two women
were strip searched twice during their one-

22

strip searching as giving the Court “the most
pause,” and the Court has acknowledged that
security guards may thwart the stated policy
and invade a detainee’s privacy abusively.141
Should a search be deemed abusive, it is

searches, and of course, intentional
harassment of even the most hardened
criminals cannot be tolerated by a civilized
society.”142 So while there is deference given to
facility officials when reviewing their policies,
searches are clearly not to be used as forms of
punishment or humiliation.
The strip search policy used in the East
Baton Rouge Prison falls vastly short of both
legal and common decency standards. To be
detained for a minor crime, comply with all
commands and requests, but to be intimately
strip searched in front of a group of people
regardless is nothing short of intended
degradation. These group strip searches were
comprised mainly of protesters and happened
after they had already been in custody for
several hours. For some, a second strip
search was conducted after they had been in
continuous custody for nearly a full day, when
they had had no contact with the free world in
between. It would be a near impossibility for
officers to articulate a need to strip search each
and every one of these dozens of detainees,
considering the drastic invasion of privacy.
Even if they could, the intended humiliation
rises to an unnecessary level; detainees could
have been searched individually and in private
instead of being forced to strip down entirely in
front of strangers. The group search practice in
the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison was carried
out an unnecessarily invasive way considering
the low potential for harm or contraband.

23

Conclusion
T

he conditions in the East Baton Rouge
Parish Prison fall vastly short of
constitutional standards. Staff at the East Baton
Rouge Parish Prison used threats of violence,
humiliation, and sub-standard medical care
to unconstitutionally punish detainees. Most
of those at the East Baton Rouge Parish
Prison are held unable to make bond, without
conviction. In the instance of those arrested
for demonstrating, the majority were arrested
either illegally or for conduct that could
otherwise be subject to a traffic citation.
Though no one should have to suffer these
abuses, the law is clearly more suspicious
when these abuses are directed at detainees
(i.e., people who have only been arrested but
not convicted). The presumption of innocence
provides even greater protection to detainees

is also inhumane, and when medical care is
provided, it falls far below the standard of care.
Law enforcement’s response to protests in
East Baton Rouge reflects an overwhelming
intolerance to dissent, civic engagement,
and the exercise of First Amendment rights.
The lessons learned from the mass arrests
following the civic protests of the killing of
Alton Sterling are clear: systemic problems in
the East Baton Rouge Prison require reform,
not just of the conditions of confinement but
to the intentionality of conduct that seeks
to use threats of violence, humiliation, and
disarray as punishment rather than detention.
The manner in which East Baton Rouge
Parish Prison treated those protesting police
misconduct bears an uncanny resemblance to
the treatment of those fighting for civil rights

Even though it was so bad, they went through much worse when
we weren’t there…
from arbitrary punishment and abuse.
Unfortunately, as outlined extensively above,
Baton Rouge Parish Prison’s intentionally
hostile response to arrestees violates the Due
Process Clause of the US Constitution.
In addition to substandard conditions,
the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison appears
to encourage or at least tolerate abusive and
humiliating conduct by guards. The inability
or refusal to provide appropriate medical care

24

over half a century ago.143
Unfortunately, this report reflects the
treatment of detainees in the East Baton Rouge
Parish Prison when the whole world was
watching. Jenna’s summary thoughts on her
confinement as a protest detainee are haunting:
“I got the impression, from talking to other
women who had been in the prison longer, that
even though it was so bad, they went through
much worse when we weren’t there…”.144

Recommended
Reading
Some of the major primary sources for this report can be found at the websites
below:
• The declarations utilized herein were initially compiled for a First Amendment
lawsuit filed by the National Lawyers Guild, the ACLU of Louisiana, and the New
Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice. The original complaint and all declarations,
including those used in this report, may be found at:
https://www.laaclu.org/press/2016/NBRM_v_City_of_BR.htm
• Health Management Associates’ presentation of their study on the medical
practices at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison may be found at:
http://justicespromise.org/about-us/news-press/157-east-baton-rouge-parishprison-findings-through-health-management-associates
• The East Baton Rouge Parish Justice Center Study by Loop Capital Financial
Consulting Services, which examined review current local processes that affect the
jail population against national best practices, particularly where these inefficiencies
prolonged a detainee’s stay in the prison, may be found at:
http://www.brgov.com/press/Baton%20Rouge%20Justice%20Center%20Study%
20-%20Final%20Report.pdf
• A 1961 pamphlet by two Southern University students who were jailed for
protesting segregation in Baton Rouge, which describes protest suppression and
subsequent punitive prison conditions with striking resemblance to the experiences
described in this report, can be found at:
http://www.crmvet.org/info/61_batonrouge.pdf.

About the Promise of Justice Initiative
The Promise of Justice Initiative is a private, non-profit organization
that advocates for humane, fair, and equal treatment of individuals
in the criminal justice system. Our projects focus on ending
the death penalty, fixing inhumane conditions of confinement,
exposing prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, eliminating
poor representation of criminal defendants, and ending racial
discrimination in the criminal justice system. Our organization is
composed of dedicated board members, staff, and volunteers who are
committed to our Constitution’s promises of justice and dismayed by
society’s shortcomings in making good on them.
Erica Navalance is a staff attorney at PJI.
Andrea Armstrong is an Associate Professor of Law at
Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law and a
founding board member of PJI.

Notes
The authors wish to thank all of the interviewees for their willingness to speak openly
about their experiences. Additional thanks to the Louisiana chapter of the National Lawyers
Guild for their rapid response to the detention and prosecution of these protestors. Special
thanks to Ben Cohen for editing this piece, and to Emet Celeste-Cohen for designing and
formatting this report.
2 East Baton Rouge Parish Prison typically books anywhere from 40 to 80 new arrests
a day, or anywhere from 14,600 to 29,200 people processed into the prison annually. LOOP
CAPITAL FINANCIAL CONSULTING SERVICES, EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH
JUSTICE CENTER STUDY – FINAL REPORT at 6 (June 30, 2016), http://www.brgov.com/
press/Baton%20Rouge%20Justice%20Center%20Study%20- %20Final%20Report.pdf.
3 Steve Almasy, Holly Yan, Jamiel Lynch and Eric Levenson, No federal charges against
officers in Alton Sterling Death, CNN, May 3, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/us/
alton-sterling-doj-death-investigation.
4 Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, Press Release: Federal Officials Close
Investigation Into Death of Alton Sterling, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
May 3, 2017, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-officials-close-investigation-deathalton- sterling.
5 Corporal L’Jean Mckneely Jr, Press Release: Officer Involved Shooting on North Foster
Dr, BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT, July 6, 2016, http://brgov.com/dept/brpd/
news/pdfs/07-06-16_update_officer_shooting.pdf (citing officer’s paid leave immediately
following the shooting); Bryn Stole, Jim Mustian And Andrea Gallo, What’s next for Baton
Rouge officers after federal Alton Sterling investigation closed, May 4, 2017, http://www.
theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/alton_sterling/article_d556416c-3116- 11e7-a190233a696e342d.html (paid leave continues for officers past the completion of the federal
investigation).
6 Jeff Landry, Press Release: Attorney General Jeff Landry Statement on Sterling
Investigation, LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, May 3, 2017, https://www.
ag.state.la.us/Article.aspx/2406?catID=5.
7 Rebekah Allen, Andrea Gallo, and Emma Discher, 3 Alton Sterling protesters arrested,
but Baton Rouge authorities hopeful no need for militarized force, THE ADVOCATE, May
3, 2017, http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/alton_sterling/article_88d03b602ff2-11e7-a041-3f479afded39.html.
8 Megan Wyatt, Who’s being arrested in Baton Rouge and what they’re being charged
with, WWLTV, http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/whos-being-arrested-in-baton-rougeand-what-theybe-being-charged-with/272011303.
1

9 “When any person has been arrested or detained in connection with the investigation
or commission of any offense, he shall be advised fully of the reason for his arrest or
detention, his right to remain silent, his right against self incrimination, his right to the
assistance of counsel and, if indigent, his right to court appointed counsel.” La. C.Cr.P. Art.
218.1: Advice of reasons for arrest or detention and of rights.
10
“The person arrested has, from the moment of his arrest, a right to procure and confer
with counsel and to use a telephone or send a messenger for the purpose of communicating
with his friends or with counsel.” La. C.Cr.P. Art. 230: Rights of person arrested.
11
North Baton Rouge Matters, et al v. City of Baton Rouge, et al, 3:16-cv-00463-JWDRLB, R. Doc. 2-5 at 14-16 (Declaration of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)); Interview withJenna
Finkle (June 21, 2017).
12
East Baton Rouge Sheriff ’s Office, Who We Are: Parish Prison, http://www.ebrso.org/
WHOWEARE.aspx.
13
LOOP CAPITAL FINANCIAL CONSULTING SERVICES, supra note 2, at 1.
14
Id. at 2-3.
15
Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 535 (1979).
16
Id. at 539.
17
The Court has considered a number of factors in analyzing whether an action amounts
to punishment or not, including “[w]hether the sanction involves an affirmative disability
or restraint, whether it has historically been regarded as a punishment, whether it comes
into play only on a finding of scienter, whether its operation will promote the traditional
aims of punishment -- retribution and deterrence, whether the behavior to which it applies
is already a crime, whether an alternative purpose to which it may rationally be connected
is assignable for it, and whether it appears excessive in relation to the alternative purpose
assigned.” Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. 144, 168-69 (1963) (footnotes omitted).
18
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-3 at 18 (Declaration
of Brachell Brown (July 11, 2016)).
19
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 3 (Declaration
of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)).
20
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 16 (Declaration
of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)).
21
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 7 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
22
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 8 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).

NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 16 (Declaration
of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)).
24
Id.
25
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 8 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
26
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 17 (Declaration
of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)).
27
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 19 (Declaration
of Tammy Lynn Cheney (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 20 (Declaration of Marina Sparagana
(July 12, 2016)). The officers arresting Mrs. Cheney refused to let her get into her own car
to make sure her five-year-old son was alright, and threatened her with felony charges of
abandonment. She was made to sit on the curb, her hands zip-tied behind her back; officers
refused to investigate the child in her car until she responded “yes” when they asked “did
you learn your lesson?”
28
Id.
29
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 21 (Declaration
of Marina Sparagana (July 12, 2016)).
30
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 4 (Declaration
of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)).
31
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 3 (Declaration
of Andrew McDaniel (July 12, 2016)).
32
Freeze +P, AERKO INTERNATIONAL, http://aerko.com/freeze-p/.
33
Id.
34
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff ’s Office Policy and Procedures Manual, Policy 0403.06: Use of Force: USE OF LESS THAN LETHAL FORCE, last revised Jan. 26, 2009
(reevaluated annually), available at https://studylib.net/doc/7222826/policy---east-batonrouge-sheriff-s-office.
35
Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 320 (1986) (emphasis added).
36
Id. at 327; Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1, 9 (1992).
37
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-5 at 15 (Declaration
of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 16 (Declaration of Karen Savage (July 12,
2016)); R. Doc. 2-4 at 4 (Declaration of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-6 at
9 (Declaration of Max Geller (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-3 at 18- 19 (Declaration of Brachell
Brown (July 11, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 3 (Declaration of Andrew McDaniel (July 12, 2016));
R. Doc. 2-8 at 21 (Declaration of Marina Sparagana (July 12, 2016)).
23

NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 21 (Declaration
of Marina Sparagana (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 16 (Declaration of Karen Savage (July
12, 2016)).
39
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 9 (Declaration
of Max Geller (July 12, 2016)).
40
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-5 at 15 (Declaration
of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 21 (Declaration of Marina Sparagana (July
12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 16 (Declaration of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-3 at
18-19 (Declaration of Brachell Brown (July 11, 2016)).
41
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 16 (Declaration
of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)).
42
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 16 (Declaration
of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)); Interview with Jenna Finkle (June 21, 2017).
43
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 4 (Declaration
of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)).
44
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff ’s Office Policy and Procedures Manual, Policy
04- 03.07 Use of Force: MEDICAL AID, last revised Jan. 26, 2009 (reevaluated annually),
available at https://studylib.net/doc/7222826/policy---east-baton-rouge-sheriff-s-office.
45
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 16 (Declaration
of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)).
46
Brown v. Plata, 563 U.S. 493, 511 (2011).
47
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 16 (Declaration
of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-4 at 7-8 (Declaration of Julien Burns (July
12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 16-17 (Declaration of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-4
at 3 (Declaration of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-6 at 8-9 (Declaration of
Max Geller (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 20-21 (Declaration of Marina Sparagana (July 12,
2016)); Interview with Jenna Finkle (June 21, 2017).
48
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 8-9 (Declaration
of Max Geller (July 12, 2016)).
49
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 20-21
(Declaration of Marina Sparagana (July 12, 2016)).
50
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 15-17
(Declaration of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)).
51
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 7 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
38

Taser x26c, https://buy.taser.com/taser-x26c/; Lorry Schoenly, Taser Injury: the
Stunning Truth, CORRECTIONALNURSE.NET, https://correctionalnurse.net/taserinjury-the- stunning-truth/.
53
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 3 (Declaration
of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)).
54
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 16 (Declaration
of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)).
55
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 16 (Declaration
of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)).
56
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 16 (Declaration
of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)).
57
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 17 (Declaration
of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)).
58
Interview with Jenna Finkle (June 21, 2017).
59
Id.
60
LOOP CAPITAL FINANCIAL CONSULTING SERVICES, supra note 2, at 9.
61
Sibley v. Lemaire, 184 F.3d 481 (5th Cir. 1999).
62
Linda Follenweider, Jack Raba, and Karen Batia, Report and Recommendations:
Clinical Operations at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, slide 1 (June 8, 2016) (identifying
Linda Follenweider as a Master of Science, PhD candidate, and Certified Nurse Practitioner,
Jack Raba as a Medical Doctor, and Karen Batia as a PhD).
63
Id. at slides 5-6.
64
Id. at slide 1.
65
Id. at slide 25.
66
Id. at slide 12.
67
Id. at slide 14.
68
Id. at slide 23.
69
Id.
70
Id. at slide 3.
71
Id. at slide 16.
72
Id. at slide 8.
73
Id. at slide 17.
74
Id. at slide 16.
75
Id. at slide 24.
76
Id. at slide 24.
52

Id. at slide 27.
Id. at slide 15.
79
Id. at slides 16-17.
80
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 21 (Declaration
of Marina Sparagana (July 12, 2016)).
81
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 7-8 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-5 at 15-16 (Declaration of Jenna Finkle (July 12,
2016)).
82
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 16 (Declaration
of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-4 at 3 (Declaration of Christopher Brown (July
11, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-6 at 16 (Declaration of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-4
at 7-8 (Declaration of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
83
Follenweider supra note 62 at slides 27-28.
84
Id. at slide 27.
85
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 7 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
86
Bibbs v. Early, 541 F.3d 267 (5th Cir. 2008) (inmates cannot be subjected to extreme
heat or cold, and must be given appropriate bedding and clothing for the temperature); see
also Gaston v. Coughlin, 249 F.3d 156 (2d Cir. 2001); Foster v. Runnels, 554 F.3d 807 (9th Cir
2009) (meals cannot be denied as retaliation, since denying meals can be a deprivation of
a life necessity); Keenan v. Hall, 83 F.3d 1083, 1089 (9th Cir. 1996) (prisons must provide
prisoners with opportunities for exercise outside of their cells); see also Delaney v. DeTella,
256 F.3d 679 (7th Cir. 2001); DeSpain v. Uphoff, 264 F.3d 965 (10th Cir. 2001) (prisoners are
entitled to sanitary toilet facilities, proper trash procedures, no roach or rat infestations, and
basic supplies such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, sanitary napkins, razors, and cleaning
products); see also Gillis v. Litscher, 468 F.3d 488 (7th Cir. 2006).
87
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 3 (Declaration
of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)).
88
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 11 (Declaration
of Nadia Salazar (July 12, 2016)).
89
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 3 (Declaration
of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)).
90
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-5 at 16 (Declaration
of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-4 at 8 (Declaration of Julien Burns (July 12,
2016)); R. Doc. 2-4 at 19 (Declaration of Tammy Lynn Cheney (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-6
at 16 (Declaration of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)).
77
78

NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 8 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
92
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-5 at 16 (Declaration
of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)).
93
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 11 (Declaration
of Nadia Salazar (July 12, 2016)).
94
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 7 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 11 (Declaration of Nadia Salazar (July 12,
2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 17 (Declaration of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-6 at 17
(Declaration of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-5 at 15 (Declaration of Jenna
Finkle (July 12, 2016)).
95
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 17 (Declaration
of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)).
96
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 19 (Declaration
of Tammy Lynn Cheney (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 11 (Declaration of Nadia Salazar
(July 12, 2016)).
97
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-5 at 15 (Declaration
of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-6 at 17 (Declaration of Yakeista Hughes (July 12,
2016)).
98
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 17 (Declaration
of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)).
99
Interview with Jenna Finkle (June 21, 2017).
100
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 16 (Declaration
of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)).
101
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-5 at 16 (Declaration
of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)).
102
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 11 (Declaration
of Nadia Salazar (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-4 at 3 (Declaration of Christopher Brown (July
11, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-4 at 19 (Declaration of Tammy Lynn Cheney (July 12, 2016)).
103
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-5 at 16 (Declaration
of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)).
104
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 3 (Declaration
of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-5 at 15 (Declaration of Jenna Finkle (July
12, 2016)).
105
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 7 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
91

Id.
Interview with Jenna Finkle (June 21, 2017).
108
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 3 (Declaration
of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)).
109
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 16 (Declaration
of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)).
110
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 7 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
111
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-5 at 15-16
(Declaration of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)).
112
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 8 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
113
LOOP CAPITAL FINANCIAL CONSULTING SERVICES, supra note 2, at 9.
114
Id.; Interview with Jenna Finkle (June 21, 2017).
115
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-5 at 16 (Declaration
of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)).
116
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-5 at 15 (Declaration
of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)).
117
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 7 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
118
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 16 (Declaration
of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)).
119
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 3 (Declaration
of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-5 at 15 (Declaration of Jenna Finkle (July
12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-6 at 16 (Declaration of Yakeista Hughes (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8
at 3 (Declaration of Andrew McDaniel (July 12, 2016)).
120
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 3 (Declaration
of Christopher Brown (July 11, 2016)).
121
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 7 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
122
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 19 (Declaration
of Tammy Lynn Cheney (July 12, 2016)).
123
A juvenile shall be held in custody in a juvenile detention center;” however, “[i]f
a detention facility for juveniles is not available, he may be held in an adult jail or lockup
for identification or processing procedures or while awaiting transportation only as long
as necessary to complete these activities for up to six hours.” La. Child. Code Ann. § 306
Places of detention; juveniles subject to criminal court jurisdiction (emphasis added).
106
107

East Baton Rouge Sheriff ’s Office, ANNUAL REPORT 2014, http://www.ebrso.org/
Portals/0/ebr-ar-2014-web.pdf.
125
LOOP CAPITAL FINANCIAL CONSULTING SERVICES, supra note 2, at 1.
126
East Baton Rouge Sheriff ’s Office, Prison Roster, http://www.eastbatonrouge.lavns.
org/.
127
Diana Samuels, East Baton Rouge Parish Prison: See new photos of the conditions
inside, THE TIMES-PICAYUNE, Feb. 3, 2015, http://www.nola.com/news/baton- rouge/
index.ssf/2015/02/east_baton_rouge_parish_prison.html.
128
Id.
129
LOOP CAPITAL FINANCIAL CONSULTING SERVICES, supra note 2, at 3.
130
Id. at 24.
131
Association of State Correctional Administrators, ASCA Responses Staff to Inmate
Ratio Survey, PRISON LEGAL NEWS, June 16, 2010, , https://www.prisonlegalnews.
org/media/publications/ASCA%20Responses%20Staff%20
to%20Inmate%20Ratio%20
Survey%2C%20Association%20of%20State%20Correctional %20Administrators%2C%20
2010.pdf.
132
The Baton Rouge Sheriff ’s Office self-reports 350 deputies who are employed by
the prison, but this includes “secretarial workers, guards, and administrative staff.” (http://
www.ebrso.org/WHOWEARE/Divisions/ParishPrison.aspx). Even if we make the large
assumption that two-thirds of the total staff are security guards, the ratio of East Baton
Rouge Parish Prison staff to detainees is 6.8:1 any time the prison is running at full capacity.
We know this ratio is actually regularly even higher, as 1) the prison operates above capacity
nearly half the time, driving the inmate number up, and 2) not every person employed by
the prison is on duty at all times, decreasing the number of officers in the prison at any time.
133
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-4 at 7 (Declaration
of Julien Burns (July 12, 2016)).
134
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 17
(Declaration of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-4 at 7 (Declaration of Julien Burns
(July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-6 at 9 (Declaration of Max Geller (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-5
at 16 (Declaration of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 11 (Declaration of Nadia
Salazar (July 12, 2016)).
135
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 17 (Declaration
of Karen Savage (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-4 at 7 (Declaration of Julien Burns (July 12,
2016)); R. Doc. 2-5 at 16 (Declaration of Jenna Finkle (July 12, 2016)); R. Doc. 2-8 at 11
(Declaration of Nadia Salazar (July 12, 2016)).
124

Karen Savage, Reporter Recounts Arrest, Prison Stay After Baton Rouge Protest,
JUVENILE JUSTICE INFORMATION EXCHANGE (July 22, 2016), http://jjie.
org/2016/07/22/reporter-recounts-arrest-prison-stay-after-baton-rouge-protest/.
137
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-6 at 9 (Declaration
of Max Geller (July 12, 2016)).
138
NBRM v. City of Baton Rouge, 3:16-cv-00463-JWD-RLB, R. Doc. 2-8 at 11 (Declaration
of Nadia Salazar (July 12, 2016)).
139
Florence v. Bd. of Chosen Freeholders, 566 U.S. 318, 326 (2012) (reaffirming that the
proper standard for a specific prison policy is whether “it is reasonably related to legitimate
penological interests.”); see also Watt v. City of Richardson Police Dep’t, 849 F.2d 195, 197
(5th Cir. 1988).
140
Bell, 441 U.S. at 559.
141
Id. at 559.
142
Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 517, 528 (1984).
143
Major Johns and Ronnie Moore, It Happened in Baton Rouge, USA: A Real Life Drama
of our Deep South Today (1961), available at http://www.crmvet.org/info/61_batonrouge.
pdf.
144
Interview with Jenna Finkle (June 21, 2017).
136