Certain short-term parish prisoners may be assigned to collect litter, must do the cleanup work, and can earn sentence credit for it.
§2536. Beautification and litter clearing by prisoners A. Any prisoner who has been sentenced to imprisonment in the parish prison for a period of less than one year may be set to work collecting litter on the parish roads under the supervision of the sheriff, or his designee, at the request of the governing authority of the parish. Such prisoners may be utilized by municipalities within the parish by mutual agreement between the sheriff and the governing authority of the municipality. B. It shall be the duty of such prisoners to pick up and collect litter, trash, and other miscellaneous items that are unsightly to the public that have accumulated on the parish roads, municipal streets, and state highways. C. Work performed by the prisoner pursuant to this Section shall be credited towards reduction of the prisoner's sentence in the following manner: for each ten-hour day worked on the road collecting litter by the prisoner, his sentence shall be reduced by one day. D. The Department of Transportation and Development may provide one truck to each parish of sufficient size and design to hold and haul away the litter, trash, and other miscellaneous items as collected by such prisoners, and one employee capable of driving the truck provided upon request of the sheriff. However, the department shall use trucks owned by the department and shall not purchase additional trucks for the purpose of this Section. Any parish or municipality utilizing prisoners may furnish any transportation or trucks required in the utilization of prisoner labor. E. A prisoner, who participates in a litter abatement or collection program pursuant to this Section, shall have no cause of action for damages against the sheriff conducting the program or supervising his participation therein, nor against his employee or agent, for any injury or loss suffered by him during or arising out of his participation in the program, if such injury or loss is a direct result of the lack of supervision or act or omission of the sheriff or his employee or agent, unless the injury or loss was caused by the intentional or grossly negligent act or omission of the sheriff or his employee or agent. The sheriff shall not be liable for any injury caused by the prisoner, unless the gross negligence or intentional act of the sheriff or his employee or agent was a substantial factor in causing the injury. No provision hereof shall negate the requirement to provide a prisoner with necessary medical treatment as statutorily required. Acts 1987, No. 936, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1019, §9; Acts 1997, No. 656, §2.