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A program which would have trained and placed convicted felons in elementary schools is dead before it started in Caddo Parish after Sheriff Steve Prator warned the school board, Louisiana Sheriff’s Association (LSA), legislators and the public.

"I had to do all I could to put a stop to something that would have placed young children at risk," said Sheriff Prator.

In February, the Louisiana Department of Corrections asked officials with the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office to identify Caddo Correctional Center inmates for the "Mister Coffee Bean" program. The program was designed to educate a select number of felony inmates.  The inmates, upon graduation, would then be certified and placed into elementary schools as certified teachers. 

Upon receiving the request, Sheriff Prator swiftly notified the Caddo Parish School Board, the LSA, legislators and the public about the program. The sheriff said his participation in "Mister Coffee Bean" would have been against his sworn duty to serve and protect. 

 "I’m all for reducing recidivism," said the sheriff. "In fact, we have helped more than six thousand inmates graduate from our re-entry program. But our children are too precious to be part of an experimental initiative. Protecting our children must remain a priority."

On March 11, Secretary James Le Blanc of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections informed the LSA that it will discontinue the "Mister Coffee Bean" program throughout the state due to concerns brought up by the LSA and numerous legislators.

"I am relieved state officials listened and pulled the plug on this program," said Sheriff Prator.