Louisiana’s prison system routinely holds people weeks and months after they have completed their sentences. That is according to a lawsuit filed Friday by the U.S.

Tens of thousands of prisoners deemed to be at low risk of committing crimes again have languished in lockup for as long as a year after they reached their release date under the First Step Act.

Louisiana’s prison system routinely holds people weeks and months after they have completed their sentences. That is according to a lawsuit filed Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a joint statement Saturday after the Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit against the State of Louisiana and the state’s Department of Public Safety and Corrections.