Just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote a third installment to the Oscar Fuselier story that originally ran in the Gambit this past September. In that first story, I described how Fuselier, a 58-year-old disabled war veteran was arrested on an outstanding traffic warrant from Jefferson Parish, placed in an un-air-conditioned jail cell in the Orleans Parish Prison (OPP) with five other inmates and more than a day later was beaten unconscious by another inmate. He never regained consciousness and died two weeks later. Richard Jackson, an 18 year-old armed robbery suspect, was charged with second-degree battery for assaulting Fuselier.

In October, I found out that Jackson had been given a ‘701 release’ from the Orleans District Attorney’s Office on the battery charge . A ‘701 release’ refers to a suspect being released from jail after 60 days if a DA’s office hasn’t formally accepted charges against them. Jackson was released of that charge, but remained in jail on the armed robbery charge and for violating his parole on a previous conviction. The DA’s office said this occurred because they never received any of the files on the case from Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office (OPSCO). A spokesperson for OPCSO, Renee Lapeyrolerie , denied the DA’s, saying, “…I don’t know what report they’re talking about.” Read the rest of this entry »