A Baton Rouge judge last month gave Torrance “Lil Boosie” Hatch free rein to perform concerts out of state while on probation, but the Louisiana Department of Corrections Board of Pardons and Parole has apparently been pumping the brakes on the rapper’s travel.
Louisiana Department of Corrections Deputy Secretary Genie Powers said members of the department’s parole board are directly involved in the decision regarding Hatch’s travel restrictions, which are currently being decided on a case-by-case basis. Generally it's the locally-based parole officer -- in New Orleans, in Hatch’s case -- who would make those kinds of decisions with board approval, she said. But Powers confirmed, “there was some discussion” about Hatch’s case, specifically, among board members.
A number of out-of-state performances scheduled to usher Hatch back to the free world after spending nearly four and a half years behind bars remain in limbo after Jackson County officials on the Mississippi Gulf Coast announced last week the cancellation of an April 18 concert at the county fairgrounds. The decision, The Sun-Herald reported, was made based on “the inability, as of April 3, for anyone to guarantee the appearance of the artist for which tickets have already been sold.”
Meanwhile, the Boosie camp has issued vague assurances that they’re working to make the dates as promoters and venues are left hanging. The newspaper said a tweet from the rapper’s Twitter account on Tuesday said: “Dallas, Orlando, Indianapolis, Gulfport. We working hard to get me on the stage. Updates soon. Thank yall for stickin by me," though the tweet appears to have been removed.
Parole restrictions are based on a number of factors, Powers said, including the reason for travel. “(They) don’t allow people to go travel because they want to,” she said. She offered family visits and work as reasons more likely to get approval, the latter of which the rapper’s appearances could qualify as.
The type of offense plays another role. Sex offenders, for example, are less likely to get travel privileges, Powers said. In Hatch’s case, he served time at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola on a 2009 charge for third-offense marijuana possession and a 2011 charge for attempting to smuggle drugs into prison.
While in prison, Hatch completed programs in substance abuse, anger management, parenting, victim awareness and others, which helped him earn good time parole. At Hatch’s first court appearance following his release, 19th Judicial District Court Judge Michael Caldwell congratulated Hatch on earning his GED in prison.
Powers said the parole board has a history of taking a more hands-on approach to high profile cases, but their involvement in his case “isn’t necessarily (because) he’s a famous rapper.”
Locally, Hatch is scheduled to make two Louisiana appearances in the coming weeks, including an April 19 concert at the Cajundome in Lafayette and an April 20 "Easter Jam" at the New Orleans Lakefront Arena alongside Rick Ross.
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