Louisiana State Penitentiary

===20th century operations===
The [[Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections]] says that this facility opened as a state prison in 1901.<ref name="Time in Prison">"[http://www.corrections.state.la.us/Wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Time_in_Prison11.pdf Time in Prison]." {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/6Bdg2h6fj?url=http://www.corrections.state.la.us/Wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Time_in_Prison11.pdf |date=October 23, 2012 }} [[Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections]]. 32/40. Retrieved on September 23, 2010.</ref> The state began transferring prison facilities out of the old penitentiary into Angola. The old penitentiary continued to be used as a receiving station, hospital, clothing and shoe factory, and place for executions until it finally closed in 1917.<ref name="HardLabor">United States. General Services Administration. ''[[iarchive:HardLabor/mode/2up|Hard Labor: History and Archaeology at the Old Louisiana State Penitentiary, Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]''. Government Printing Office, 1991. Retrieved from ''[[Internet Archive]]'' on November 3, 2020.</ref> The history and archaeology of the old penitentiary provide insights into the structures and daily life of inmates at the time.<ref name="HardLabor" />

In September 1928, prisoners Cleveland Owen, Steven J. Beck, and James Heard, took two prison guards hostage and escaped from Camp E armed with .45 Colt automatics. Ten additional prisoners followed them out of the gates. The break was thwarted when the anticipated ferry was not positioned on the river's prison side. A gunfight between guards and prisoners ensued, leaving five prisoners dead. According to contemporary news reports, twenty-six persons were shot. <ref>"Escaping the Bars of Justice," ''Daily News'' newspaper (New York, NY)09/30/1928 pp.46-47</ref> "Trusty" prisoners who assisted the guards later sought pardons from Governor Huey Long. <ref>"Requests Pardon for Part in Angola Fight," ''St. Francisville Democrat'' newspaper (St. Francisville, LA)09/29/1928 p. 4</ref>

Charles Wolfe and Kip Lornell, authors of ''The Life and Legend of Leadbelly'', stated that Angola was "probably as close to slavery as any person could come in 1930." Hardened criminals broke down upon being notified that they were being sent to Angola. White-black racial tensions in the society were expressed at the prison, adding to the violence: each year one in every ten inmates were stabbed. Wolfe and Lornell stated that the staff, consisting of 90 people, "ran the prison like it was a private fiefdom."<ref name="Leadbelly100">Wolfe, Charles K. and Kip Lornell. ''The Life and Legend of Leadbelly''. [[Da Capo Press]], 1999. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2nbROPeq5zYC&dq=Angola+patrolled+horseback&pg=PA100 p. 100]. Retrieved from ''[[Google Books]]'' on August 25, 2010. {{ISBN|0-306-80896-X}}, 9780306808968</ref>

The two authors stated that prisoners were viewed as the {{"'}}worst of the lowest order".<ref name="Leadbelly101">Wolfe, Charles K. and Kip Lornell. ''The Life and Legend of Leadbelly''. [[Da Capo Press]], 1999. [https://books.google.com/books?id=iJhS9BaFFjIC&dq=%22Leadbelly+was+put+to+work+almost+immediately%22&pg=PA101 p. 101]. Retrieved from ''[[Google Books]]'' on August 25, 2010.</ref> The state did not appropriate many funds for the operation of Angola, and saved money by trying to decrease costs. Much of the remaining money ended up in the operations of other state projects; Wolfe and Lornell stated that the re-appropriation of funds occurred "mysteriously".<ref name="Leadbelly100"/>

In 1935, remains of a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] individual were taken from Angola and were donated to the [[Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science]].<ref>"[http://www.nps.gov/nagpra/fed_notices/nagpradir/nic0418.html Page 77907-77908]." [[National Park Service]]. December 13, 2000. Volume 65, Number 240. Retrieved on October 13, 2010.</ref>

In 1948, Governor [[Earl Kemp Long]] appointed [[Rollo C. Lawrence]], a former mayor of [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]], as the first Angola superintendent. Long subsequently established the position of warden as one of [[political patronage]]. Long appointed distant relatives as wardens of the prison.<ref name="Hoffa36">Harper, Stephen J. ''Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster's Story''. [[Minnesota Historical Society]], 2007. [https://books.google.com/books?id=NefJfpJWYQUC&dq=Red+Hat+prison&pg=PA36 36]. Retrieved from [[Google Books]] on March 14, 2011. {{ISBN|0-87351-580-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-87351-580-1}}.</ref>

In the institution's history, the electric chair, [[Gruesome Gertie]], was stored at Angola. Because West Feliciana Parish did not want to be associated with state executions, for some time the state transported the chair to the parish of conviction of a condemned prisoner before executing him or her.<ref name="Hoffa41">Harper, Stephen J. ''Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster's Story''. [[Minnesota Historical Society]], 2007. [https://books.google.com/books?id=NefJfpJWYQUC&dq=Angola+prison+castor+oil+pants&pg=PA41 41]. Retrieved from [[Google Books]] on March 14, 2011. {{ISBN|0-87351-580-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-87351-580-1}}.</ref>

A former Angola prisoner, William Sadler (also called "Wooden Ear" because of hearing loss he suffered after a prison attack), wrote a series of articles about Angola in the 1940s. ''Hell on Angola'' helped bring about prison reform.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://angolamuseum.org/?q=WoodenEar|title=HOME – Angola Museum|website=Angola Museum|language=en-US|access-date=July 10, 2017}}</ref>

In 1952, 31 inmates, in protest of the prison's conditions, cut their [[Achilles tendon]]s. The protestors were referred to as the Heel String Gang. This caused national news agencies to write [[Investigative journalism|exposé]] stories about conditions at Angola.<ref name="Hoffa42">Harper, Stephen J. ''Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster's Story''. [[Minnesota Historical Society]], 2007. [https://books.google.com/books?id=NefJfpJWYQUC&dq=including+a+November+22%2C+1952&pg=PA42 42]. Retrieved from [[Google Books]] on March 14, 2011. {{ISBN|0-87351-580-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-87351-580-1}}.</ref> In its November 22, 1952, issue, ''[[Collier's Magazine]]'' referred to Angola as "the worst prison in America".<ref name="Hoffa42"/><ref name="SteinLessons">Stein, Joel. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20000815091329/http://www.time.com/time/reports/mississippi/angola.html The Lessons of Cain]." ''[[TIME (magazine)|TIME]]''. Retrieved on July 21, 2010.</ref> In addition, [[Margaret Dixon]], managing editor of the ''[[Baton Rouge Morning Advocate]]'' for two decades, worked for [[prison reform]], specifically, construction of other facilities to reduce the population at Angola. The new Margaret Dixon Correctional Institution opened in 1976 and was named for her.

On December 5, 1956, five men escaped by digging out of the prison grounds and swimming across the Mississippi River. They were Robert Wallace, 25; Wallace McDonald, 23; Vernon Roy Ingram, 21; Glenn Holiday, 20; and Frank Verbon Gann, 30. The ''[[Hope Star]]'' newspaper of Arkansas reported that one body (believed to be Wallace) was recovered from the river.<ref>''Hope Star'' newspaper (Hope, AK)12/06/56 p.10 and 12/29/56 p. 3</ref>

McDonald was captured later in Texas, after returning to the United States from Mexico. McDonald said that two of his fellow escapees drowned, but this was disputed by warden Maurice Sigler. Sigler said that he believed no more than one inmate drowned. His men had found three clear sets of tracks climbing up the river bank.

Gann's family wrote to Sigler on multiple occasions, requesting that he declare the escaped prisoner dead to free up benefits for his children. Although the family never heard again from Gann, Sigler refused to declare him dead, saying that he was likely in Mexico. Gann had been imprisoned in Angola after escaping from the Opelousas Parish Jail on April 29, 1956, where he was serving a relatively minor charge for car theft.

In 1961, female inmates were moved from Angola to the newly opened [[Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women]].<ref>"[https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/theadvocate/access/50949662.html?dids=50949662:50949662&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:FT&type=current&date=Mar+12%2C+2000&author=&pub=Advocate&desc=LOUISIANA+CORRECTINS+TIMELINE&pqatl=google LOUISIANA CORRECTINS TIMELINE]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}."{{sic}} ''[[The Advocate (Louisiana)|The Advocate]]''. March 12, 2000. News 13A. Retrieved on August 29, 2010. "1961 Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women opened in an old prison farm camp at St Gabriel with female prisoners moved from Angola ..."</ref>

In 1971 the [[American Bar Association]] criticized the state of Angola. Linda Ashton of the ''Associated Press'' stated that the bar association described Angola's conditions as "medieval, squalid and horrifying".<ref name="Ashton2">Ashton, Linda. "Louisiana Inmates Blame Unrest on Governor : Roemer's Stinginess With Clemency Has Created 'Time Bomb,' Lifers Claim", [[Associated Press]], at the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. July 23, 1989. [http://articles.latimes.com/1989-07-23/news/mn-234_1_time-bomb/2 2]. Retrieved on March 22, 2011.</ref> In 1972, Elayne Hunt, a reforming director of corrections, was appointed by Governor [[Edwin Edwards]]. The U.S. courts in ''[[Gates v. Collier]]'' ordered Louisiana to clean up Angola once and for all, ordering the end of the Trustee-Officer and [[Trusty system (prison)|Trusty]] systems.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://angolamuseum.org/?q=History
|title=History of Angola
|publisher=Louisiana Department of Corrections
|access-date=December 6, 2007
}}
</ref>

Efforts to reform and improve conditions at Angola have continued. In 1975 [[Frank Joseph Polozola|U.S. District Judge Frank Polozola]] of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, declared conditions at Angola to be in a state of emergency. The state installed Ross Maggio as the warden. Prisoners nicknamed Maggio "the gangster" because he strictly adhered to rules. Ashton said that by most accounts, Maggio improved conditions.<ref name="Ashton2"/> Maggio retired in 1984.<ref name="Ashton2"/>

In the 1980s [[Kirksey Nix]] perpetrated the "Angola Lonely Hearts" scam from within the prison.<ref>Shapiro, Dean M. "[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/classics/dd_biloxi_confidential/11.html The Angola Lonely Hearts Club]," ''Crime Library''. Retrieved on July 25, 2010.</ref>

On June 21, 1989, US District Judge Polozola declared a new state of emergency at Angola.<ref name="Ashton3">Ashton, Linda. "Louisiana Inmates Blame Unrest on Governor : Roemer's Stinginess With Clemency Has Created 'Time Bomb,' Lifers Claim" [[Associated Press]] at the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. July 23, 1989. [http://articles.latimes.com/1989-07-23/news/mn-234_1_time-bomb/3 3]. Retrieved on March 22, 2011.</ref>

In 1993 Angola officers fatally shot 29-year-old escapee Tyrone Brown.<ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AD&p_theme=ad&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB47724DAF242FA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Angola escapee ignores warnings, is fatally shot]", ''[[The Advocate (Louisiana)|The Advocate]]''. January 3, 1993. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.</ref>

[[Burl Cain]] served as the warden from 1995 to March 7, 2016.<ref>"[http://theadvocate.com/news/14884370-128/angola-wardens-long-goodbye-highlights-states-lavish-leave-policies After leaving Angola, Burl Cain to continue collecting $134,000 in regular paychecks through August]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160302203347/http://theadvocate.com/news/14884370-128/angola-wardens-long-goodbye-highlights-states-lavish-leave-policies Archive]). ''[[The Advocate (Louisiana)|The Advocate]]''. February 21, 2016. Retrieved on February 26, 2016.</ref> He was known for numerous improvements and lowering the rate of violence at the prison, but also numerous criminal allegations.<ref>{{Cite web|last=writer|first=BRYN STOLE {{!}} Staff|title=Burl Cain, storied former Angola warden, hired to head Mississippi prison system|url=https://www.nola.com/news/article_834bca42-9ad9-11ea-8f20-df863bb2fdd5.html|access-date=2021-01-20|website=NOLA.com|date=May 20, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1999 six inmates who were serving life sentences for murder took three officers hostage in Camp D. The hostage takers bludgeoned and fatally stabbed 49-year-old Captain David Knapps. Armed officers ended the rebellion by shooting the inmates, killing 26-year-old Joel Durham, and seriously wounding another.<ref>Sack, Kevin. "[https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/30/us/2-die-in-louisiana-prison-hostage-taking.html 2 Die in Louisiana Prison Hostage-Taking]", ''[[The New York Times]]''. December 30, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2010.</ref>