Jail halts mug shot releases

Update: Comments from the Louisiana Press Association added — June 15, 9 a.m.

Anyone who is arrested and booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center will no longer see his or her mug shot released to the public, at least for now.

Starting today, the detention center has halted the release of all booking photographs to press organizations. The sheriff’s office website will also stop carrying new mug shots on its inmate registry, Sheriff Stephen Williams said.

This is a temporary measure in response to a new bill recently passed by the Louisiana Legislature that bans the dissemination of booking photos — with a broad host of exceptions.

Williams said the pull-back on all mug shot releases is a precaution until officials can implement a new system to release those that are still permissible under the bill.

“We will get it figured out,” Williams said.

Arrest reports will still be circulated as usual without the corresponding photos.

A watered-down House Bill 729 was passed by both chambers of the Legislature on June 6, the last day of the session, and is still awaiting the signature of Gov. John Bel Edwards, according to the legislative website.

The bill originally sought to ban the release of all mug shots prior to conviction unless the individual is a fugitive or deemed to be an imminent threat to public safety.

A hefty slate of amendments made further exceptions for a long list of crime charges, including crimes of violence, sex crimes, and crimes “affecting the health and morals of minors.”

Booking photos of people charged with those crimes could still be released under the bill.

There’s also an exception to allow for a mug shot’s release if criminal prosecution is expected.

Legislators said the amendments satisfied the Louisiana Sheriffs Association and Louisiana Press Association enough that neither organization opposed the bill. An LPA representative told the Leader the group opposed the original bill, which would have largely banned mug shot releases outright, but after amendments they supported were added as the bill went through a Senate committee, opposition was withdrawn.

"Given the seeming desire to pass a bill regarding this issue, we believed this would allow newspapers to continue to cover major crime issues in their communities, and not have them banned outright," LPA Executive Director Jerry Raehal said.

Author Rep. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, said during debate on the bill that pre-conviction mug shots are “prejudicial” in nature and work against the principle that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

Proponents also said they’re hoping to curb the unfair effects of mug shot publication on those who are later cleared of their crimes.

“When someone tries to get employed, they do a background check and some of these flags show up,” Rep. Barry Ivey, R-Baton Rouge, said.

The bill also addresses websites that publish arrest mug shots and then require payment to have them removed. Those companies will be required to take the photos down upon request without payment, and the bill provides a pathway for litigation against any who don’t comply.

“Once it’s out there in the digital world, it’s really hard to get it back,” Duplessis said.

Opponents said they were concerned about inhibiting law enforcement’s ability to catch criminals and inform the public about them.

“I don’t want to protect people who would hurt our children,” Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, said. “I want to know about them.”

Williams said he hopes the Lincoln Parish Detention Center will be able to tweak its booking system to code each mug shot as “for release” or not based on the crime, in compliance with the bill.