http://www.theadvocate.com/stories/011503/opi_inside001.shtml
Project Exile statistics not what they appear
By BRETT BARROUQUERE
[email protected]
Advocate staff writer
People such as Michael Ezell are responsible for the perceptions and realities surrounding Project Exile. Ezell, 28, has an 11-year federal prison sentence hanging over his head after a 1999 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
That's a long time in federal prison, and, even though Ezell's sentence counts in the statistics for Project Exile, he will never see a day in federal prison.
That's because Ezell is serving a life sentence in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. He admitted to killing his 73-year-old grandmother in 2001, and police say he recently admitted to an unsolved 1997 double murder in Baton Rouge. That's potentially three life sentences in state prison before the federal sentence would ever kick in.
Ezell isn't alone. Twenty-one of the 173 people (12 percent) prosecuted under Project Exile never made it into federal custody. Project Exile is designed to take felons with firearms and stick them in federal prison and away from the neighborhoods where they committed their crimes.
The ads for the gun-eradication program, launched here in April 1999, promise five years in federal prison. Project Exile was modeled after a program in Richmond, Va., as a way to take guns out of the hands of felons and get weapons off the street.
Project Exile is primarily an East Baton Rouge Parish program, although cases have been brought from West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston, Iberville, East and West Feliciana, Pointe Coupee and St. Helena parishes, the other areas covered in the federal Middle District of Louisiana.
Leonard Johnson is another example of someone prosecuted under Project Exile who never made it into federal custody. Johnson, convicted in March 2001 of being a felon in possession of a firearm and in possession of ammunition, received 17 years in federal prison
That's one of the longer sentences handed down under Project Exile. Johnson is serving a 50-year sentence in state prison for manslaughter.
During the sentencing late in 2001, Joanne Engum, one of Johnson's attorneys, acknowledged that her client would never be free, even if he outlived his state prison sentence. That's because of the federal sentence awaiting him.
"It would amount to a life sentence," Engum said.
To federal Public Defender Rebecca Hudsmith, the idea that someone such as Ezell was prosecuted federally and counts towards the success rate of "Project Exile" is absurd.
"It's a lot of money to spend for someone who is in Angola for life," Hudsmith said. "All this for someone who is off the street already."
Because Ezell and Johnson were prosecuted under Project Exile, the U.S. Department of Justice counts their convictions and sentences toward the average sentence under the program. That average stands at about five years, thanks in part to sentences never served and that likely never will be served. Baton Rouge defense attorney Mike Walsh also finds it odd to prosecute people such as Ezell and Johnson under Project Exile.
Walsh said it appears that those prosecutions are a "backup" to ensure violent criminals stay behind bars in case the state convictions are ever overturned.
"It's a tremendous waste of resources to pile on like you do in a football game," Walsh said. "Life means life. You're not gaining anything by adding on more time."
Without the 21 people, such as Ezell and Johnson, who have never set foot in federal prison, the average sentence drops to just under four years.
That's more in line with the reality of Project Exile. More than half of the 173 people prosecuted under the program served three years or less in federal prison.
And that, Hudsmith said, raises the question of whether the program is simply being used to pad statistics and whether it is a worthwhile use of federal money and resources.
Actual man-hours are not tracked, but Project Exile involves the FBI, Police Department and Sheriff's Office, among other area law-enforcement agencies.
There is also an assistant U.S. attorney assigned full time to Project Exile. "What the feds are doing, they can legally do," Hudsmith said. "But is it a good use of resources?"
U.S. Attorney David Dugas thinks so.
"Many people engaged in criminal activity are aware of Project Exile and don't want to be in exile," Dugas said.
Brett Barrouquere covers federal court for The Advocate.
Project Exile statistics not what they appear
By BRETT BARROUQUERE
[email protected]
Advocate staff writer
People such as Michael Ezell are responsible for the perceptions and realities surrounding Project Exile. Ezell, 28, has an 11-year federal prison sentence hanging over his head after a 1999 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
That's a long time in federal prison, and, even though Ezell's sentence counts in the statistics for Project Exile, he will never see a day in federal prison.
That's because Ezell is serving a life sentence in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. He admitted to killing his 73-year-old grandmother in 2001, and police say he recently admitted to an unsolved 1997 double murder in Baton Rouge. That's potentially three life sentences in state prison before the federal sentence would ever kick in.
Ezell isn't alone. Twenty-one of the 173 people (12 percent) prosecuted under Project Exile never made it into federal custody. Project Exile is designed to take felons with firearms and stick them in federal prison and away from the neighborhoods where they committed their crimes.
The ads for the gun-eradication program, launched here in April 1999, promise five years in federal prison. Project Exile was modeled after a program in Richmond, Va., as a way to take guns out of the hands of felons and get weapons off the street.
Project Exile is primarily an East Baton Rouge Parish program, although cases have been brought from West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston, Iberville, East and West Feliciana, Pointe Coupee and St. Helena parishes, the other areas covered in the federal Middle District of Louisiana.
Leonard Johnson is another example of someone prosecuted under Project Exile who never made it into federal custody. Johnson, convicted in March 2001 of being a felon in possession of a firearm and in possession of ammunition, received 17 years in federal prison
That's one of the longer sentences handed down under Project Exile. Johnson is serving a 50-year sentence in state prison for manslaughter.
During the sentencing late in 2001, Joanne Engum, one of Johnson's attorneys, acknowledged that her client would never be free, even if he outlived his state prison sentence. That's because of the federal sentence awaiting him.
"It would amount to a life sentence," Engum said.
To federal Public Defender Rebecca Hudsmith, the idea that someone such as Ezell was prosecuted federally and counts towards the success rate of "Project Exile" is absurd.
"It's a lot of money to spend for someone who is in Angola for life," Hudsmith said. "All this for someone who is off the street already."
Because Ezell and Johnson were prosecuted under Project Exile, the U.S. Department of Justice counts their convictions and sentences toward the average sentence under the program. That average stands at about five years, thanks in part to sentences never served and that likely never will be served. Baton Rouge defense attorney Mike Walsh also finds it odd to prosecute people such as Ezell and Johnson under Project Exile.
Walsh said it appears that those prosecutions are a "backup" to ensure violent criminals stay behind bars in case the state convictions are ever overturned.
"It's a tremendous waste of resources to pile on like you do in a football game," Walsh said. "Life means life. You're not gaining anything by adding on more time."
Without the 21 people, such as Ezell and Johnson, who have never set foot in federal prison, the average sentence drops to just under four years.
That's more in line with the reality of Project Exile. More than half of the 173 people prosecuted under the program served three years or less in federal prison.
And that, Hudsmith said, raises the question of whether the program is simply being used to pad statistics and whether it is a worthwhile use of federal money and resources.
Actual man-hours are not tracked, but Project Exile involves the FBI, Police Department and Sheriff's Office, among other area law-enforcement agencies.
There is also an assistant U.S. attorney assigned full time to Project Exile. "What the feds are doing, they can legally do," Hudsmith said. "But is it a good use of resources?"
U.S. Attorney David Dugas thinks so.
"Many people engaged in criminal activity are aware of Project Exile and don't want to be in exile," Dugas said.
Brett Barrouquere covers federal court for The Advocate.