Outgoing Louisiana governor pardons 40 murderers in attempt to reduce prison population

Gov. John Bel Edwards (D-LA) has pardoned 40 convicted murderers as of December, as he attempts to bring down Louisiana’s prison population before he heads out of office next month.

Edwards promised to reduce the prison population when seeking reelection four years ago, and he has turned his attention to fulfilling the promise in the last few months. The governor has signed 56 pardons since October, including 40 for murderers, 11 of whom were convicted in the first degree.

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“For as long as I can remember, Louisiana reflexively responded to an increase in crime by putting more people in prison and keeping them there longer,” Edwards told Louisiana news outlet NOLA.com. “We’ve never been made safer as a result of that. There is no data to suggest that an increase in crime here was because of the reforms.”

One of the men Edwards recently pardoned was Nick Charles Nicholson, who killed a woman by stabbing her 39 times in 1981. Another killer was Ricky Washington, 65, who was convicted of fatally shooting a grocery store owner during a robbery in 1979. Both men were sentenced to life in prison without a chance of parole.

Other inmates who have been pardoned so far were convicted of arson, robbery, and drug dealing.

It is unclear how many of the 56 inmates have been released, or when they will be released, but the Louisiana Department of Corrections lists Nicholson as out of custody, according to the New York Post.

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Edwards has served as the governor since 2016, after beating former Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) in 2015. He won reelection in 2019 but was term-limited in 2023. He will leave office on Jan. 8, 2024.

State Attorney General Jeff Landry was elected governor in October, securing more than 51% of the vote.