An embattled sheriff whose New Orleans jail was the scene of a brazen, 10-inmate escape last year has been charged with malfeasance in office and related offenses with just days left in her term.
Charges Against Sheriff Susan Hutson
Outgoing Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson was named in a sweeping indictment handed up by a special grand jury and announced by Attorney General Liz Murrill on Wednesday. The indictment includes 30 counts against Hutson, including malfeasance in office, filing false public records, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy.
“While Sheriff Hutson did not personally open the doors of the jail for the escapees, her refusal to comply with basic legal requirements and to take even minimal precautions in the discharge of her duties directly contributed to and enabled the escape,” Murrill said in a statement.
The Jailbreak Incident
The escape took place early on May 16, 2025, when inmates yanked out a wall toilet in the Orleans Parish Justice Center and crawled through the hole in a scene reminiscent of the hit 1994 movie The Shawshank Redemption. Before fleeing, the men scrawled messages on the wall surrounding the hole, including one that read: “To Easy LoL,” with an arrow pointing to the opening.
A security camera recorded them jumping from a loading dock and running away, after which they climbed over a perimeter fence, using blankets to protect themselves from barbed wire at the top. Three escapees were quickly caught, and the rest were eventually tracked down. The last one was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, 145 days after the jailbreak.
Indictment Details
In addition to the 30 counts filed against the sheriff, her chief financial officer, Bianka Brown, was indicted on 20 counts led by malfeasance in office. The 23-page indictment also includes charges of filing or maintaining false public records and obstruction of justice, as well as conspiracy to commit each offense, but does not detail the allegations, according to nola.com.
Hutson's Tenure and Election Defeat
Hutson, 59, was elected in 2021 and is the first Black woman to become Orleans Parish Sheriff. She defeated four-term incumbent Marlin Gusman after a campaign in which she pledged reforms at the long-troubled jail. In addition to the jailbreak, Hutson’s tenure had other scandals that included alleged overspending on hotel rooms for her top brass during the city’s Mardi Gras. Voters overwhelmingly rejected her October re-election bid. Hutson scored a dismal 17 percent of the vote in a six-way race that was easily won by acting New Orleans Police Chief Michelle Woodfork, who is set to be sworn in on Monday.
One day before her indictment, Hutson delivered a defiant farewell address in which she complained that the jailbreak had “completely overshadowed the hard work” she had done to deliver pay raises to deputies and upgrade technology at the jail, which has been under federal oversight for years, according to local TV station WVUE.
