What Is Louisiana Amendment 3?

Louisiana never fails to remind us where its priorities lie. Once again, the state proves that locking up Black children is more important than educating them. Instead of investing in schools, mental health resources, or community programs, lawmakers have decided the best way to handle troubled youth is to house them in an adult prison. Not just any prison—Angola, one of the most notorious penitentiaries in the country.

Now, with Amendment 3 on the Louisiana ballot, legislators want even more control. If it passes, lawmakers—not judges—will decide which crimes allow juveniles to be tried as adults. This isn’t about safety. It’s about expanding the school-to-prison pipeline.

Why Are Louisiana Lawmakers Pushing Amendment 3?

Let’s be real—everyone is fed up with juvenile crime. Polling shows that New Orleanians are sick and tired of carjackings, robberies, and violent crime. People are angry. They want solutions. They want their city back.

But instead of addressing the root causes of crime, conservative politicians see this as an opportunity to capitalize on fear and anger. Instead of investing in rehabilitation, education, and economic opportunities, they want to make it easier to lock up more kids.

Amendment 3 fits right into their plan. If it passes, the legislature will have the power to expand the list of crimes that allow juveniles to be charged as adults. That means more kids in adult prisons, more money flowing into private prison contracts, and more destruction of Black and Brown communities.

How Will Louisiana Amendment 3 Impact Juveniles?

Supporters of Amendment 3 claim it’s about holding young offenders accountable. But in reality, it’s about permanently criminalizing children before they have a chance at redemption.

• More children will be tried as adults for crimes lawmakers define—not judges, not legal experts, just politicians.
• Harsher sentences will keep kids locked up longer, stripping them of opportunities for rehabilitation.
• Adult prisons will expose juveniles to violence, abuse, and trauma, making them more likely to reoffend.

This is the same mindset that justified slavery. African leaders who sold their people into bondage never imagined the horrors of what awaited them. Now, Louisiana lawmakers want to send our children into the horrors of adult prisons, leaving them ill-equipped to survive.

Related: Project2025 NOLA

Louisiana’s Juvenile Justice System Is Broken—But Amendment 3 Won’t Fix It

We know how this plays out. Louisiana leads in incarceration and trails in education. The school-to-prison pipeline isn’t a myth—it’s a business model.

• Schools fail kids.
• The system criminalizes them.
• They land in juvenile detention.
• Now, instead of rehabilitation, they’ll be fast-tracked into Angola.

And with Amendment 3, Louisiana lawmakers don’t even have to pretend they care about second chances.

Vote NO on Louisiana Amendment 3

Louisiana has choices. It could invest in schools, mental health services, and job programs. It could create pathways out of crime instead of into shackles. But that requires leaders who care more about children than prison contracts.

Amendment 3 is about power—not justice. If it passes, more kids will be tried as adults, more lives will be destroyed, and more private prisons will profit.

Be Sure to Make Your Vote Count

This isn’t just a policy decision—it’s a moral one. Do we invest in kids, or do we throw them away? Do we fix the system, or let fear and greed dictate Louisiana’s future?

The choice is ours. And it starts with voting NO on Louisiana Amendment 3.