15 May 2023
By Greg LaRose
Contributing Writer
(lailluminator.com) — A person who breaks into a home while someone is inside could soon be charged as a violent criminal in Louisiana, eliminating the defendant’s opportunity for probation.
Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, proposed House Bill 65 after her home was burglarized, she said. The Louisiana Association of District Attorneys (LADA) supports the legislation.
Under current Louisiana law, someone convicted of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling can be punished with a prison sentence between one to 12 years. Villio’s bill would elevate the offense to a crime of violence if someone is home at the time. The designation would likely mean a longer prison sentence and little to no chance for an offender to receive probation.
House Bill 65 doesn’t include specific sentencing options for simple burglary.
A state Senate committee advanced a bill on Tuesday of last week, that would also calculate their “good time” differently, which would translate to more time served in prison. Opponents of the bill expressed concern that offenders would not be offered penal diversion options such as drug court under Villio’s revisions. Addicts often turn to burglary to support their habits and would be better served through mandated rehabilitation programs rather than incarceration, they said.
Morgan Lamandre typically appears before legislators in her role with the survivors’ advocacy group Sexual Trauma and Response. She represented just herself Tuesday when Villio’s bill was discussed before the Senate Judiciary C Committee. In tears, she told lawmakers about her brother who died last year from a fentanyl overdose. Lamandre said he had become addicted to painkillers after a knee injury and admitted he had committed simple burglary.
“But when he committed it, it was not a crime of violence so he was able to go through drug court,” Lamandre said. “And although we lost him last year, I really believe the only reason we didn’t lose him sooner is because he was able to go through drug court.”
Checo Yancey, a formerly incarcerated person with the group Voice of the Experienced, also testified against Villio’s bill. The approach of keeping offenders in prison longer is not a proven rehabilitation method, he said.
LADA Executive Director Loren Lampert said prosecutors will still have the latitude to prosecute simple burglary suspects under lesser charges that would include drug court as a provision of their sentence.
The committee advanced the bill with a 4-2 vote.
Villio, a former assistant district attorney, said she intends to author “truth in sentencing” laws that would set higher obstacles for offenders to obtain early release.
This article originally published in the May 15, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.