BATON ROUGE — The governor declared a state of emergency, calling for urgent repairs to a deteriorating maximum security section of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order calling for a state of emergency on July 25. In the order, he cited the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act, which authorizes the suspension of state regulatory statutes that would "prevent, hinder or delay necessary action in coping with the emergency." The order extends through Aug. 23.

The order would essentially expedite the procurement of funds and public bidding rules to make repairs to Angola's Camp J. 

Camp J is a maximum security unit at the state penitentiary and has "deteriorated into a condition that creates a significant threat of injury to individuals and property who enter or are in and around its premises," the order said.

"Louisiana State Penitentiary lacks adequate bed capacity to accommodate violent offenders who require the highest degree of security and will be transferred to its facilities," the order read.

Problems in Camp J date back to 2017 when dozens of weapons were found at the unit due to security malfunctions, the governor's order says. Within a year, approximately 85 corrections officers assigned to Camp J resigned, retired or were terminated. Additionally, locks for the cells in Camp J malfunctioned, allowing inmates to circumvent security checks.

The facility was closed in 2018, Landry said. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the facility was reopened to house infected inmates.