Louisiana bars certain out-of-state prisoners from being housed in state, local, or private correctional facilities, and requires some to be returned for release in the sentencing state.
§709. Prisoners convicted in other states and housed in Louisiana A. Except as provided by Part II-A of this Chapter, a prisoner convicted and sentenced to incarceration by a court in another state shall not be housed for the commission of that offense in a state correctional facility in Louisiana; however, nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit the prosecution, sentencing, or incarceration of any person for the commission of a criminal offense in the state of Louisiana. B. Except as provided in R.S. 15:774, a prisoner convicted and sentenced to incarceration by a court in another state who is housed in a local jail or private correctional facility in Louisiana shall not be released in this state. Any prisoner housed in a local jail or private correctional facility shall be returned to an appropriate correctional facility located within the state where he was convicted and sentenced for release in that state. C. Except as provided by Part II-A of this Chapter, a prisoner convicted and sentenced by another state shall not be housed in a local jail or private correctional facility if the prisoner would be classified as maximum custody by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections classification procedure. D. Except as provided by Part II-A of this Chapter, the state where the prisoner was convicted and sentenced shall be responsible for the costs associated with returning the prisoner to that state. E. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to any prisoner kept in custody under the authority of the United States or held under the jurisdiction of the United States. F. For the purposes of this Section: (1) "Local jail" means a correctional facility operated by a political subdivision of the state or defined by law as a political corporation. (2) "Private correctional facility" means a correctional facility operated by a private entity. (3) "State correctional facility" means a correctional facility owned and operated by the state of Louisiana or the Louisiana Correctional Facilities Corporation housing prisoners committed to the custody of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 74, §1; Acts 2010, No. 222, §1; Acts 2018, No. 440, §1.