In response to news that a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit over Louisiana housing youth in Angola prison, Gina Womack, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), issued the following statement:
Though we are relieved to finally have some closure in the lawsuit, we know that the harm and trauma inflicted on our youth and their families will continue to impact them for decades. The decision to send children to Angola—a former plantation for enslaved Africans and one of the most notoriously inhumane adult prisons in the country—was not just misguided, it was a moral failure that revealed how far we still have to go in recognizing and protecting the humanity of Black and brown youth.
While the lawsuit helped end and prevent further harm during the course of three years, it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that children were subjected to violence and abuse, including extended isolation, shackled showers, and inhumane conditions under the custody of the state. These decisions weren’t just policy failures—they were acts rooted in systemic racism and disregard for the well-being of young people. We cannot consider this a true victory. The lawsuit did not result in a ruling that prevents the state from housing children in adult facilities in the future, and our state leaders continue to rely on and promote harmful, punitive measures, despite overwhelming evidence of their ineffectiveness. This underscores just how precarious justice remains for Black and brown youth.
Our organization remains committed to building a holistic approach to addressing community violence and incarceration—one that centers healing and the belief in every child’s potential and ability to learn, change, and thrive. We will keep fighting until every child is treated with the care, compassion, and fairness they deserve. We must recommit to a complete transformation of our youth justice system—one that rejects punishment and invests in care: education, mental health services, and economic opportunities that uplift entire communities.
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