Former Warden Blames New Orleans Jail Security Failures for 4-Time Escapee and 9 Others Breakout
Former warden describes New Orleans jail as a "train wreck" after serial escapee Antoine Massey and nine others break free.
Deficient security procedures have been cited as a major factor behind the May 17 jailbreak at a New Orleans correctional facility, where ten inmates, including a repeat escapee, broke free before staff even realized they were missing. According to former federal prison warden Cameron Lindsay, this lapse is indicative of larger systemic failures within the jail’s management.
“First of all, that jail had been deemed a train wreck in terms of just basic jail operations,” Lindsay said. With two decades of experience in the federal prison system—seven years as a warden, including at Brooklyn's notorious Metropolitan Detention Center—Lindsay criticized the jail for failing elementary security standards. “It would appear that basic security inspections were not taking place… Inmates should never be able to tear a toilet off of a wall and just be able to go right to the perimeter fence. I mean, I just can’t believe that.”
The Orleans Parish Correctional Facility, overseen by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office (OPSO), has operated under a federal consent decree since 2013 after the Department of Justice cited civil rights abuses. Under the decree, the jail faces regular compliance checks intended to address operational shortcomings.
However, the October 2024 compliance report showed troubling statistics: just 42% of the agreement’s measures were fully compliant, with about 5% completely noncompliant, and the rest only partially compliant. The report described inadequate supervision, rampant violence, unregulated drug use, extortion schemes, and inmates openly fashioning weapons from everyday materials.
“Significant incidents of violence [occurred], including inmate-on-inmate assaults and assaults on staff,” the report stated. “The level of violence in the facility continued to be at all-time high levels during this monitoring period.” Even more concerning, both staff and inmates reported that so-called ‘tank bosses’ were extorting other prisoners for protection, undermining jail authority.
There was also no functioning monitoring system in place to verify if security checks were being conducted at proper intervals—a direct violation of corrections best practices. These gaps came into sharp relief after the escape, when ten inmates breached the facility early on May 17 and scattered across the city. As of Friday afternoon, five remained at large.
Lindsay emphasized the basics: “Inmate security checks represent a critical, industry-accepted minimum standard. Failure to conduct them is a serious threat to the overall basic security of any correctional facility. It speaks to lack of effective correctional leadership and possibly a lack of appropriate funding.”
Among those who escaped was Antoine Massey, a four-time escapee wanted for multiple serious offenses, including rape and kidnapping. Massey had previously cut off multiple electronic ankle monitors and was considered extremely high risk. Lindsay argued that given his history, Massey should have been held in the most secure section of the facility, with staff conducting documented checks at irregular intervals of no more than 30 minutes.
The incident has brought scrutiny on jail administration. Lindsay was especially harsh, stating, “I don’t know why you would have nine high-security-level individuals in one cell like that… It just doesn’t sound like it’s a well-operated correctional facility. It sounds like it’s a mess.”
Further compounding concerns was the lag in response. It wasn’t until almost 8:30 a.m.—hours after the escape—that jail staff realized the inmates were gone. The New Orleans Police Department only learned of the situation through media reports. “When you have an escape, there should be an immediate response. There should be no delay whatsoever. That information should go out to law enforcement and through the community,” Lindsay said.
Summarizing his assessment, he concluded, “An escape is the quintessential failure in corrections. Your No. 1 objective is to protect the community… to ensure that these inmates are segregated from free society, so you have to prevent an escape.”
The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office did not respond to requests for comment. The search for the remaining escapees continues as politicians and the public demand accountability and urgent reforms at the troubled facility.
