Louisiana Criminal Defense Laws

Attempted first/second-degree rape, sexual battery, oral sexual battery, human trafficking, trafficking of children, and indecent behavior with juveniles must be prosecuted within 30 years from the date the victim turns 18.

Prosecution for sex offenses may commence beyond normal time limits if identity is established through DNA profiling after the standard period has expired.

Effective for crimes committed after January 1, 2019, all felony convictions require unanimous jury verdicts (12-0). Prior to this, Louisiana allowed non-unanimous 10-2 verdicts — a Jim Crow-era provision that was the last of its kind in the nation.

Louisiana retains the death penalty. In March 2024, Governor Landry signed law allowing execution by nitrogen gas and electrocution in addition to lethal injection. Executions resumed in February 2025 after an approximately 15-year hiatus.

Felony convictions may be expunged after 10 years from completion of sentence, probation, or parole, with no other convictions during that 10-year period and no pending charges.

A package of 10 bills that reduced sentences for nonviolent offenders, expanded probation and parole eligibility (nonviolent offenders parole-eligible after serving 25% of sentence), and reduced the prison population by approximately 14,000 from peak.