The department of public safety and corrections is addressing a series of unexpected deaths at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in Iberville Parish. Chief of Operations Seth Smith says of the 47 deaths at Elayn Hunt in 2025, 18 were unexpected.
“11 were determined to be by natural causes. One suicide, two overdoses and four that are currently pending autopsy,” Smith explained.
Secretary Gary Westcott says the issues that the people inside the prison are going through are not much different than those of the general public outside the prison.
“The aging and ailing population in that prison, they’re having the same illnesses that all of us see and deal with in the free world. This includes serious drug addiction issues commonly referred to as ‘subsabuse disorder’ that we are seeing throughout our state and our nation,” Westcott said.
Secretary Westcott announced that earlier this month, Travis Day took over as warden of the facility, taking over for Keithe Turner, who stepped down after only eight months on the job. Westcott says the health and safety of the inmates is of utmost importance to all prison staff.
“Everyone at the Department of Public Safety and Corrections truly care for the incarcerated individuals that we are charged to secure and care for. And we take this responsibility seriously,” Westcott said.
Westcott also announced the appointments of Jamie Lee as deputy secretary and Tammy Grant as undersecretary of the department of public safety and corrections.