A former police monitor turned sheriff and the first woman to serve as sheriff in New Orleans was indicted by a grand jury this week.
A state investigation alleged that Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson poorly managed the jail system in which 10 inmates escaped last year.
The jailbreak occurred out of the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans on May 16, 2025. All 10 escapees have since been located and returned to custody.
“Through the hard work of my office, along with the Louisiana State Police and our many federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, every escapee is behind bars, and others who facilitated and enabled the escape are currently being prosecuted,” Murrill said.
Hutson’s bond is set at $300,000 on 30 felony counts, including malfeasance in office, filing or maintaining false public records, and obstruction of justice.
Prior to being elected, Hutson was a police monitor for the New Orleans Police Department, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Austin Police Department.
She holds a law degree from Tulane University and an economics degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Hutson did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
Hutson's sibling, Elizabeth Hutson of Ventura County, California, said there are serious questions about who directly participated in the jail break incident and that accountability appears uneven.
"My sister has spent her time in office working to reform a deeply troubled system," Elizabeth Hutson told NTD. "Under her leadership, there were documented efforts to reduce recidivism, increase accountability, and implement long-overdue changes in the jail system. Those efforts are reflected in her public reports. Justice should be fair, consistent, and rooted in facts—not timing, politics, or selective enforcement."
“So, that when they leave, they don't do what? Come right back,” she said on April 29. “We know that was a revolving door. The re-arrest rate was around eight percent when I got in ... about 7.96 percent. Our most recent data shows that the arrest rate is about 3.5 percent right now.”
In 2013, the jail system in Orleans Parish was placed under federal oversight due to allegations of violence, corruption, and dysfunction.
Monitors appointed by the federal government reported staffing shortages and a lack of supervision.