Former Louisiana Senator Is Headed to Jail

Former Louisiana State Senator Karen Carter Peterson gets a 22-month prison sentence after she admitted to using money from her campaign coffers and the State Democratic Party's money to fund her gambling addiction.

Peterson has admitted she spent more than 140-thousand dollars to gamble.. She has confessed to having a gambling addiction. She even added her name to the list of problem gamblers so she would be banned from casinos in Louisiana.

Peterson could have been sentenced to as long as 51 months behind bars by Federal Judge Sarah Vance, but the j t, but the judge gave her the 22-month sentence. Peterson's attorneys did ask that the former lawmaker be allowed to serve her sentence in home confinement, but the judge did not agree to that.

Her attorneys pointed to Peterson's admission of guilt and treatment plan along with her Christian faith in asking for a lighter sentence.

Back in 2017, Peterson made national headlines when she told Haughton State Representative to "shut the F up" on the floor of the House. KEEL News spoke with Horton shortly after that incident.

Horton did tell us Peterson apologized for her comments.

Judge Vance has ordered Peterson to report to jail on March 6th. The former lawmaker will likely have to serve just over a year behind bars.

Peterson resigned from the state senate last year, citing depression and her gambling addiction. Peterson served in the legislature from 1999 to 2022.