OOPS! - The Same New Orleans Prison That Had 10 Inmates Escape Through A Toilet Just Accidentally Released The Wrong Prisoner
CBS News – An inmate was mistakenly released last week from the same New Orleans jail that was the scene of a brazen breakout in May, officials said.
Officials at an Orleans Parish correctional facility said they accidentally released 30-year-old Khalil Bryan, who was being held on a warrant for aggravated assault with a firearm, domestic abuse, child endangerment and home invasion. He has a criminal history that includes burglary, assault and drug violations.
I should send the Orleans Parish Justice Center a gift basket. For the amount of blogging milage I've gotten out of this place since those 10 prisoners escaped from behind a cell toilet, I'm starting to feel like I owe them something. I now know way more about the Orleans Parish Justice Center than I ever should have. Which honestly isn't much. But to know more than literally nothing at all is more than I ever cared to.
Even for a prison that had previously been ranked in the top 10 of worst prisons in America, it's been a rough few months for these guys. To that point that a week ago, there were reports of the Federal Government taking over control of the prison from the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. But apparently that report was incorrect. Orleans Parish released a statement vehemently denying the vicious, false rumors.
WDSU – OPSO disputes the claims from our sources and provided the following statement:
"The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office categorically and unequivocally denies the false rumors circulating regarding a federal takeover of the Orleans Justice Center. There has been no federal takeover of the jail. We remain under the leadership of the Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, fully committed to constitutional operations and transparent reform.
"Furthermore, no employees have been removed from the facility as part of any federal action. These claims are completely false.
"We urge members of the public and media to rely on verified, official sources for accurate updates. Spreading misinformation and baseless speculation not only confuses the public but also actively undermines the progress we are making to strengthen safety, accountability, and trust.
"False narratives, especially ones this serious, carry real consequences. The public deserves facts, not fear."
And following that statement, Orleans Parish swiftly turned around and let the wrong prisoner walk right out the door.
CBS News – Officials at an Orleans Parish correctional facility said they accidentally released 30-year-old Khalil Bryan, who was being held on a warrant for aggravated assault with a firearm, domestic abuse, child endangerment and home invasion. He has a criminal history that includes burglary, assault and drug violations.
When you see something like that happen, you would think the prisoner must have had the same first and last name. Or maybe an identical last name and same first initial. Well somehow, Orleans Parish seems to be doing a pretty good job of hiding who was actually supposed to be released that day. Because all I can find is that Khalil Bryan had nothing more than a "similar last name" to the prisoner who was meant to be set free.
The Orleans Parish sheriff said that Bryan's release was a clerical error because another inmate scheduled for release had a similar last name.
It's something I'd expect to see in a 'The Office' style sitcom at a prison run by Warden Michael Scott. Where his lovable but bumbling security guard drops a piece of donut on his clipboard that covered up a letter in the inmate's last name, leading him to let out the wrong guy. I wonder if the man who was supposed to be let free ended up being released. Or do they have to keep the ratio in tact?
"Bad news Keith Bryant. We let out Khalil Bryan instead. But the budget is tight right now. We can't afford to have an empty bed. Oh that doesn't make sense? I'm sorry, were you under the impression that we know what we're doing here? Back to your cell. Bitch."
What a preposterous series of L's the Orleans Parish Justice Center has taken. But as much as this sheriff seems to be dropping the ball over and over again, I'll give her credit for one thing. She hasn't completely quit yet.
"The mistaken release of Khalil Bryan was a serious error, and as sheriff, I take full responsibility," Sheriff Susan Hutson said during a news conference on Friday. "While our systems are designed to catch these discrepancies, human error led to a breakdown in the verification process."
If I was in Susan's position, after 10 inmates escaped in a highly embarrassing national media story… after I had just released that bold statement of confidence in the face of a federal takeover… then 5 minutes later we released the wrong prisoner… I would be so out of there. The minute I got that news, without saying a word to anyone, I'd have walked to my car and drove west until I hit the ocean. I'd sit on the beach in silence for a week until I mustered up the energy to get a job as a barista under a fake name and start a new life. Maybe I'd take up whittling. There's no shot I'm seeing this one through. But as far as I can tell, not only is Susan not backing down, she's still campaigning for re-election. In that sense, she's a stronger person than me.
Also, there's something fucked up about this statement.
WWL – “Even though it was a mistaken release from custody, you are on notice — you are a fugitive," Kirkpatrick said in a warning to Bryan. "I’m gonna ask that you turn yourself in. You and others who may be harboring him at this moment, will be subject to prosecution yourself because you are on notice."
Kirkpatrick added that it's not yet known whether Bryan realized he was released by mistake and said potential new charges would be up to the District Attorney's Office.
"He may know he was mistakenly released," she said. "We don’t know that, that will be up to the District Attorney’s Office to what type of charges would be filed if any."
I know they have to do it. It's no different than a person who's out on probation and failing to report. If you've been arrested, and the cops say you have to be somewhere, you're obligated to comply. But they really just let the guy walk. He didn't ask to be let out of prison. That's the prison's mistake. This guy is going to end up getting a year tacked onto his sentence because the prison staff literally escorted him out the front door. And any family member he comes in contact with is going to end up getting in trouble too. Which is even more bullshit. Not to judge a book by it's cover, but hypothetically speaking, if this guy with multiple violent felonies just shows up at your door one day…
And you love the guy like family, but you're also kinda scared of him, so you just give him a couple hundred bucks to leave you alone. Obviously you should call the cops once he leaves, but overall, that's just an incredibly shitty situation to be in. And the only reason they've been put in that situation is because the prison who promised to keep this man out of your lives completely failed to do their job.
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One more thing. It's 100% fact that Khalil Bryan was "let out" of the prison by mistake.
Well when those prisoners "escaped" Orleans Parish through the back of a toilet months ago, one of the prisoners (Antoine Massey, who lasted 6 weeks on the run) posted a video to Instagram pleading his innocence. During his 10 minute diatribe, Antoine Massey refused to say that he "broke out" of prison. On two separate occasions, he claimed he was "let out".
Without having to sit through the full video, at the very start of Massey's speech, he claims he was "let out" … "but they say I escaped right?"
Later in the video (20 seconds into the following snippet), he says again, "They say I broke out, I was let out".
I didn't put much stock into that. I figured in his mind he thought he was somehow using semantics to keep from incriminating himself. But considering Orleans Parish Justice Center just certifiably freed the wrong prisoner…
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That's right, Brian Windhorst. Maybe something to keep tabs on. Maybe there's more to the infamous New Orleans Prison Break of 2025 than a few inmates threatening to shank a janitor, and forcing him to turn off the water so they could escape from behind a toilet.
Keep you head up Orleans Parish. Good luck in your re-election campaign Sheriff Hutson. You're bound for a win one of these days.