During the pre-dawn hours of May 16, 2025, a group of ten inmates pulled off a brazen escape from the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans, leaving a mocking graffiti: “To Easy LOL” marking the escape. The group was recorded by surveillance cameras as it pulled out a toilet and sink assembly to make an opening for the cell wall, then making a dash for the loading dock out onto the streets of the city. The escape went undetected for about eight hours, making it one of the most dramatic jailbreaks in the recent history of the United States. The incident led to increasing attention to the facility’s security measures and monitoring, uncovering a web of vulnerabilities that permitted such an undetected breach.
At the center of the escape is 33-year-old Antoine Massey, a seasoned escapee with a criminal record. Charged now with kidnapping, rape, domestic assault, and auto theft, Massey has a background of evading custody, successfully escaping in 2007 from a juvenile detention facility, 2019 from Morehouse Parish Detention Facility, and 2023 after cutting off an ankle monitor within a Walmart. His fourth escape solidifies the reputation of Massey as a shrewd and elusive character. His repeated success at evading detention further raises questions about the efficacy of prisoner monitoring and facility protection throughout the U.S. criminal corrections system.
Social media was abuzz with speculation tying Massey’s family to the music culture of New Orleans, including the claim that his stepfather was close friends with Reginald “Rabbit” McDonald, the late stepfather of rapper Lil Wayne. Those claims, based mainly on unverified posts, are not supported by credible sources and do not relate directly to the escape. Those rumors have not been commented on by authorities, which are instead preoccupied with the ongoing manhunt and problems with the jail.
The escape was made possible by the cooperation of Sterling Williams, a maintenance man at the Orleans Justice Center, who was said to be coerced by Massey to shut down the water supply system, which made it possible for the inmates to disassemble plumbing devices undetected. Williams is now in custody, as are more than eleven others, including jail officials and outside conspirators, for assisting the escapees. The escape has put the chronic problems at the Orleans Justice Center, which is under a federal consent decree since 2013 for civil rights violations such as poor prisoner protection and medical care, in the limelight. Recent reports of compliance show that the jail had achieved only 42% of the requirements under the decree, with federal monitors consistently reminding Sheriff Susan Hutson of the lack of adequate supervision of the inmates. The facility’s understaffing and underfunding, as mentioned by Hutson, have further exacerbated the systemic failures that made the escape so easy.
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Through May 28, 2025, eight of the ten escapees have been recaptured, with Antoine Massey and Derrick Groves, both convicted of second-degree murder, still missing. Massey was seen most recently in Natchez, Mississippi, on May 27, but officials believe he is no longer in the vicinity. A $20,000 reward is offered for the information leading to the apprehension of Massey, and the search is now under way across Louisiana and into Texas, involving federal, state, and regional law enforcement agencies. The sometimes frantic search, which is estimated to be costing the city of New Orleans $250,000 per week, speaks to the difficulty of capturing Massey, believed to have access to financial resources that are facilitating his elusiveness.
Sheriff Susan Hutson has suspended her re-election campaign to focus on restoring public trust, acknowledging the likelihood of inside help in the escape. She also directed an independent review of the jail’s security measures and staffing, which have been labeled as poor. The escape is also prompting calls from city officials and the general public for the resignation of Hutson and an overall reexamination of jail management.
The case has also raised public safety alarms, with some escapee victims said to have gone into hiding out of fear of retaliation. The investigation and prosecution are being handled by the office of the Louisiana Attorney General, Liz Murrill, further spurring criticism of the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office.