
Sheriff Wiley is even the President of the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association.Īscension Parish Jail Addresses Physical Addressĭonaldsonville, LA 70346 Inmate Mailing Address It has become a local model for law enforcement. The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office has become one of the most technologically savvy in the state, which is nationally recognized for its organization, communication, and crime fighting expertise. Sheriff Jeff Wiley, who was first elected to the position of sheriff in 1996, is currently serving his fifth term as the Sheriff of Ascension Parish. In 2008, the jail conducted its second expansion project, resulting in a capacity in 572 offenders. The jail was accredited by the American Correctional Association in 2003. The jail was expanded, a project completed in 1989, and that increased the capacity of the jail to 192 offenders. The first jail built on the site of the current jail was occupied in 1976. The fifth jail, which continues to existence today as the “old jail” was built in 1867, and once served as both the courthouse and the jail until 1976. However, it was destroyed during the bombing of Donaldsonville during the Civil War. The police jury planned the fourth jail, which ended up being the parish’s first brick jail.
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The third jail was built in the same location and used for detention facilities until it was condemned in 1850. The second jail was built in 1810, also on land donated by William Donaldson. “Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office is tasked with enforcing the law and protecting our community however, they have violated our most sacred law, the Constitution, in order to attack our own citizens based on an extreme and racist anti-immigrant agenda,” James Bullman, cooperating counsel with the ACLU of Louisiana, said.The first Ascension Parish Jail was built in 1806 on property donated by William Donaldson, the founder of Donaldsonville. The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, is demanding unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Torres’ behalf to stop these unconstitutional practices and to uphold the basic civil rights of all people.”

“The increasing national rhetoric of fear and racism around immigration is tearing apart our local communities,” Schwartzmann said. Not doing so violated Torres’ constitutional rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, according to the ACLU. Locking people up based on race or ethnicity is antithetical to our most cherished American values.”Īccording to the lawsuit, the Ascension Parish court’s policies clearly state that someone arrested for driving while intoxicated as Torres was in August of last year should have been released from custody the very next morning. “This is racial profiling, which is unconstitutional and deeply harmful to our communities.
#Ascension parish sheriff office inmates skin
“Ramon Torres was held in jail for four days simply because he has brown skin and a Latino name,” ACLU of Louisiana legal director Katie Schwartzmann said. When Torres asked his jailers why he was being held and why his citizenship was in question, Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies told Torres that every Hispanic person was automatically held for a immigration review, according to a new lawsuit the ACLU of Louisiana has filed against the sheriff’s office. citizen, Torres was held in jail for four days, until his friend was able to contact a lawyer who challenged the sheriff’s office.
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passport, but the ACLU says the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office refused to release him until an ICE official confirmed his immigration status.ĭespite the fact that any of the three identifying documents are enough to legally prove an individual’s status as a U.S. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.īATON ROUGE – When Ramon Torres was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, he produced his Louisiana driver’s license, social security card, and U.S. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
