Deficient security protocols allowed a serial escape artist and nine others to break out of a New Orleans jail, according to a former federal prison warden. 

“First of all, that jail had been deemed a train wreck in terms of just basic jail operations,” Cameron Lindsay told Fox News Digital. 

Lindsay worked for 20 years in the federal prison system, seven of them as a warden. He was once the warden of the infamous Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He also served as a warden at two private prisons. Now, he is a consultant and expert witness. 

“It would appear that basic security inspections were not taking place at the jail. Inmates should never be able to tear a toilet off of a wall and just be able to go right to the perimeter fence,” he said. “I mean, I just can’t believe that.” 

This photo shows the hole left behind by inmates who escaped the Orleans Parish Prison. (Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office)

Lindsay was critical of the leadership at the jail.

“I don’t know why you would have nine high-security-level individuals in one cell like that,” he said. “It just doesn’t sound like it’s a well-operated correctional facility. It sounds like it’s a mess.”

The Orleans Parish Prison is seen in New Orleans on May 16, 2025. (Brett Duke/The Advocate via AP)

“And I tell you what, here’s another thing that speaks to me about the ineffectiveness of this facility,” he said. “I would tell you that they don’t know the first thing about emergency preparedness, because when you have an escape, there should be an immediate response. There should be no delay whatsoever. That information should go out to law enforcement and through the community.”

The inmates escaped in the early morning hours of May 16, but jail staff did not realize they were missing until about 8:30 a.m., they said in a City Council meeting after the escape.

New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick was notified of the escape by one of her captains, who heard about it in the media. 

“An escape is the quintessential failure in corrections,” Lindsay said. 

“It is the quintessential failure because your No. 1 objective is to protect the community and then to protect the staff and to protect the inmates. But your No. 1 objective is to ensure that these inmates are segregated from free society, so you have to prevent an escape.”

The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.