PORT ALLEN — In just six months, three inmates at the West Baton Rouge Parish detention center have died while in custody. All three of those deaths have been drug-related.

The West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office says it is working to enhance both the safety and security at the detention center.

Despite this, prison reform advocates question whether this is enough.

Reverend Alexis Anderson is the executive director of PREACH and a member of the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison Reform Coalition. She says when a death happens in pretrial facilities, several questions arise.

"When you have deaths in pretrial facilities, there's a question to be had about three things, one is were your procedures and protocols appropriate. Are your people adequately trained for what the work is, and secondly, are the procedures you say you do the actual things you do?" Anderson said.

Last week, guards found 30-year-old Jeremy Paul unresponsive inside a dorm.

Two days later, the sheriff's office charged 26-year-old Nicholas Henderson with second-degree murder in connection with Paul's death. Investigators say Henderson provided a synthetic cannabinoid — often referred to as Mojo — to Paul.

"How is it that people could be gathered and participating in drug use in a facility that is managed and watched, and quite frankly, people's freedom is taken 24/7," Anderson said.

In March, two West Baton Rouge inmates were charged with obstruction of justice after inmate Ryan Moreau suffered a medical emergency from a substance he received from one of the inmates. Moreau later died at the hospital.

In May, Unterio Lewis died from a drug-related death while in the West Baton Rouge Correctional Center.

"The sheriff's department in any of these facilities is responsible for security, so if things are coming into your facility, you have to ask the question: one, are you sure how they are coming in?" Anderson said.

The sheriff's office announced security reforms to increase safety and security in the corrections center, like scanning all offender mail and requiring random drug screenings for inmates.

According to a West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office spokesperson, since January 2025, seven offenders have been arrested on additional drug charges as part of their ongoing efforts to maintain a secure facility.

"The West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's office remains committed to continually reviewing and strengthening our practices to ensure the safety of both offenders and staff. This includes exploring new technologies and implementing additional measures to further enhance security and accountability within the facility," the spokesperson said.

The most recent measure implemented is the Life Check system, which verifies that hourly rounds have been documented and conducted correctly.

"I'm hoping that West Baton Rouge will learn some of the best practices of systems that are around the country. I will tell you quite frankly, I don't think Louisiana is where you look for the best-case scenarios. I think you look into the places that have not had deaths," Anderson said.

The sheriff's office has two initiatives that they are working to implement in the future. One is installing a new camera system, the other is assigning a detective specifically to corrections.