According to The Advocate: “A federal judge has granted class action status to lawsuits claiming Louisiana regularly kept inmates in prison past their release dates, opening the door for thousands of former inmates to join the case.

The plaintiffs argue the Department of Public Safety & Corrections knew about the problem yet failed to take proper action for at least a decade. While the judge has not yet ruled in their favor, granting class action status recognizes the scope of the problem, they say.

‘This is a major victory for accountability — and we hope it is the beginning of the end of the state’s pattern of illegally imprisoning thousands of Louisianans at taxpayer expense,’ William Most, one of the attorneys on the case, said in a statement.”

Read the news story here or the judge’s order here.