New Orleans Janitor Charged in Jailbreak: Attorney Explains Defense

Jailbreak and Charges

• 🚨 Ten inmates escaped from an overcrowded New Orleans jail two months ago, with one, Derek Groves, still at large.
• 🔑 Sterling Williams, a former jail maintenance worker, has been formally charged with 10 counts of "principal to simple escape" and one count of malfeasance in office.
• 💰 Williams is being held on over a million dollars bail.

Defense Strategy

• 💬 Williams' attorney, Michael Kennedy, states the defense is not that Williams was threatened into assisting the escape.
• 💧 The defense asserts Williams turned off the water because of an overflowing toilet caused by stuffed jail clothing, which was part of his janitorial duties.
• 🗣️ Kennedy dismisses claims of threats as "jailhouse banter" and a misconstrued part of the jail's vernacular.

Official Directive and Oversight

• 🛠️ Kennedy argues Williams was acting as the jail plumber to clear a stuffed toilet, implying no official directive was needed for this specific task.
• ❓ The attorney questions the lack of guards noticing the inmates' elaborate escape, suggesting a broader oversight issue beyond the plumber.
• ⚖️ The defense team plans to assert Sterling Williams' innocence throughout the legal proceedings.