Outgoing Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards pardons 56 inmates, including 40 convicted murderers

The outgoing governor of Louisiana has pardoned 56 inmates since October of this year, including dozens of convicted murderers.

With a staggering 1,094 people per 100,000 in some form of incarceration, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards has made reducing the state’s grossly over-populated prisons a top priority of his final term in office.

“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 this week.

[All I can say is I sure hope someone crawled through these cases with a fine tooth comb. ~ Beege]