The sheriff of a Louisiana parish is under fire for lamenting the scheduled release of prisoners in terms that critics said underscored the exploitation of inmates and, at times, evoked slavery.

The remarks, by Sheriff Steve Prator of Caddo Parish, came near the end of a lengthy news briefing on Oct. 5, in which he objected to a set of laws that will allow for the release of a number of nonviolent prisoners on Nov. 1.

The sheriff spent the majority of the news conference talking about the danger of letting out repeat offenders who belonged in prison. He referred to those prisoners as “the bad ones,” and compared them with state prisoners held in parish jails and sentenced to hard labor, whom he deemed “good.”

“In addition to the bad ones — and I call these bad — in addition to them, they’re releasing some good ones that we use every day to wash cars, to change oil in our cars, to cook in the kitchen, to do all that, where we save money,” Sheriff Prator said. “Well, they’re going to let them out.”