Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson doubled down this week on her claim that politics drove a mass breakout from the city's jail this spring, drawing stinging criticism from two of her opponents in the sheriff's race during a candidate forum.

The May 16 jailbreak was not "a break out. It was a let out," Hutson told moderators at WWL Louisiana, who hosted Hutson, former interim New Orleans Police Superintendent Michelle Woodfork, and Constable Edwin Shorty at their studios Thursday.

"And it was very curious on the timing as well.... We know that there were actors doing this to influence the election."

Voters will decide Oct. 11 whether to afford Hutson, who faced widespread criticism after the jailbreak, a second term. A runoff, if needed, will be Nov. 15.

Woodfork, who has notched

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