Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration has agreed to pay private attorneys hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend his plan to house incarcerated youth at one of the country’s largest maximum-security prisons for adults. 

The Office of Juvenile Justice initially hired Butler Snow LLP to cover litigation related to the opening of a juvenile facility at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. The law firm could make up to an additional $415,000 to defend the relocation. On top of the $415,000 it could potentially spend on legal fees, the state also shelled out $550,000 to convert an old prison building into one appropriate for juvenile justice.

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