Louisiana moves closer to final passage of tough-on-crime bills

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana, a state grappling with one of the highest rates of incarceration and violent crime in the country, is on the cusp of overhauling parts of its criminal justice system as the state’s GOP-dominated legislature barrels ahead with a package of bills — ranging from expanding death row execution methods, charging 17-year-olds as adults and eliminating the opportunity of…