Full Breakdown
Custodian Sentenced for Role in 2025 New Orleans Jailbreak
By Drooid · · How we work
Prison Sentence for Custodian Sterling Williams
Sterling Williams, a 34-year-old custodian at the Orleans Parish Justice Center, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison on Thursday. He pleaded guilty to one count of malfeasance in office after prosecutors said his decision to shut off water in a cell enabled ten inmates to remove a toilet, crawl through a wall gap and scale the jail fence. An additional 2½ years of the sentence were suspended and Williams will serve three years of probation. The state dismissed ten more serious charges that could have carried up to ten years in prison.
How the Escape Unfolded
On May 16, 2025, CCTV footage captured the inmates running through the loading dock after the water shutoff created a hole behind a toilet. The prisoners left a graffiti note reading “To Easy LoL.” All ten escapees were later recaptured; one convicted murderer remained at large for five months before being found hiding beneath a house in Atlanta. The escapees now face aggravated-escape charges and are scheduled for a jury trial in April.
Official Reactions
Michael Kennedy, Williams’s attorney, acknowledged that his client “failed to follow protocol” but maintained that Williams lacked knowledge of the inmates’ plan. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said a state probe found that former Sheriff Susan Hutson’s poor management contributed to the jailbreak, though Hutson herself was not charged with facilitating the escape. Bianka Brown, the sheriff’s chief financial officer, was also indicted on twenty related counts; both Hutson and Brown have pleaded not guilty.
Additional Arrests and Legal Actions
Law enforcement arrested at least fourteen other individuals—many identified as friends or family of the escapees—for providing food, cash, transportation and shelter. These arrests underscore the broader network alleged to have assisted the fugitives.
Verbatim Quotes
- “He does admit that he failed to follow protocol in a job as a public employee, and that it is possible that those actions aided in a plan hatched by 10 inmates to escape,” — Michael Kennedy — Michael Kennedy