A special grand jury indicted Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson on 30 felony counts on Wednesday in connection with a high-profile jailbreak that allowed 10 inmates to escape from the Orleans Parish Justice Center on May 16, 2025. The outgoing sheriff's chief financial officer, Bianka Brown, faced 20 similar felony charges.

The charges against Hutson include 14 counts of malfeasance in office, along with counts of conspiracy to commit malfeasance, filing or maintaining false public records, conspiracy to commit filing or maintaining false public records, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice. The allegations span from May 2022 to April 2026, covering much of her term. Brown faced parallel accusations. Both posted bond of $300,000 for Hutson and $200,000 for Brown, surrendered their passports, and were ordered not to leave Louisiana. They made their first court appearance Thursday morning before former Judge Franz Zibilich, who was assigned after all Orleans Parish judges recused themselves.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced the indictment, stating a state investigation found Hutson's "refusal to comply with basic legal requirements and to take even minimal precautions... directly contributed to and enabled the escape." Warrants accused Hutson of ignoring repeated warnings about staffing shortages, inadequate supervision, broken security procedures, and poor oversight of inmate movements. Federal monitor reports, Department of Corrections audits, and legislative reviews had flagged issues like unstaffed housing units and missed security rounds for years.

Investigators alleged Hutson and Brown made false statements to the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, claiming a lack of staff and funds for inmate transports despite a $14 million surplus at the end of 2024. Hutson often blamed the New Orleans City Council for underfunding, but probes found sufficient resources available.

The inmates escaped around 1 a.m. by tampering with a defective cell door lock, removing a toilet and sink, and crawling through a hole in the wall they widened by cutting steel bars. They left graffiti reading "To Easy LoL" and "We Innocent" before scaling a loading dock, a perimeter wall, and fleeing across Interstate 10. The breakout went unnoticed until an 8:30 a.m. headcount; a lone control room guard had left for a meal break. The escapees, facing serious charges including multiple second-degree murders, armed robbery, and weapons offenses, were all recaptured by October 8, 2025. The last, Derrick Groves, was arrested in Atlanta after 145 days at large.

Thirteen others, including jail maintenance worker Sterling Williams, who allegedly cut water to the cell to aid toilet removal, faced charges for assisting the escape. Three jail employees were suspended without pay.

Hutson, who lost reelection last fall to Sheriff-elect Michelle Woodfork and leaves office Monday, called the escape a "coordinated effort aided by individuals inside our own agency." She took "full accountability" for procedural failures but vowed to "aggressively fight to clear my name," calling the indictment's timing suspect. Her office cooperated with the nearly year-long probe by the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation and state police.

Murrill noted discussions with Woodfork on jail reforms. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office declined further comment due to ongoing proceedings