In yet another example of the dangerous consequences of soft-on-crime Democrat leadership, two New Orleans prosecutors and their families have fled the state in fear for their lives after a convicted killer—Derrick Groves—escaped from a local jail in what appears to be a stunning security breakdown, aided from the inside.
Groves, convicted of second-degree murder, is now one of six fugitives still at large, following a jailbreak that has rocked New Orleans and exposed the deep failures of the city’s progressive policies. The attorneys who helped send Groves to prison were so alarmed by his escape that they immediately left Louisiana, fearing retaliation.
District Attorney Jason Williams, a Democrat, admitted he feels “personally afraid,” but instead of taking responsibility for the lawlessness engulfing his city, he turned his anger on Republican Governor Jeff Landry, who rightly criticized the city’s disastrous “criminal justice reform” agenda.
“The lawyers who tried that case with me… the next of kin — we’re all the ones in harm’s way, not Jeff Landry,” Williams said, completely sidestepping the issue of accountability.
Williams even went so far as to claim that it wasn’t his office’s job to ensure the convicted murderer ended up in the maximum-security Angola Prison after sentencing. That’s right — in a city plagued by crime, the DA is more focused on passing the buck than protecting the public.
Governor Landry struck a chord with concerned citizens across Louisiana and the nation when he said what most are thinking: New Orleans’ soft-on-crime policies are a threat to public safety. And now, they’ve led to a violent killer roaming free.
The escape itself was nothing short of outrageous. According to Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, Groves and several other inmates breached a jail wall behind a toilet, exited through a supply door, scaled a wall, and sprinted across the interstate. Surveillance footage confirmed the incident, which unfolded around 1:00 a.m., but authorities didn’t notice the escape until 8:30 a.m. during a routine headcount.
Let that sink in: a violent murderer had a **seven-hour head start** before anyone even noticed he was missing.
And to make matters worse, Sheriff Hutson confirmed that the escapees **received inside help** from members of the jail staff. This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment prison break — it was aided by people **on the public payroll**, operating under Democrat leadership.
Hutson admitted there’s **“no way people can get out of this facility without there being some type of lapse in security.”** Translation? The system is broken, and criminals are taking full advantage.
While Hutson insists this kind of escape is “rare,” the fact that six dangerous men are still loose, and prosecutors have been forced to flee with their families, proves that the threat is **very real** — and **entirely preventable**.
New Orleans is quickly becoming a cautionary tale for what happens when progressive politicians value ideology over public safety. Until the city ditches its soft-on-crime policies and puts criminals behind bars where they belong, law-abiding residents — and even prosecutors — will continue to live in fear.
The people of Louisiana deserve better.
