Louisiana State Penitentiary Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Operations== [[File:Warden Burl Cain St Francisville.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Burl Cain]], warden of Angola from 1995 to 2016]] As of 2011 the annual budget of the Louisiana State Penitentiary was more than $120 million.<ref name=Ridgeway1/> Angola still is operated as a [[prison farm|working farm]]; former Warden Burl Cain once said that the key to running a peaceful [[Types of US federal prisons|maximum security prison]] was that "you've got to keep the inmates working all day so they're tired at night."<ref name="Erwin37">James, Erwin. "[https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/mar/10/erwin-james-angola-three 37 years of solitary confinement: the Angola three]." ''[[The Guardian]]''. Wednesday March 10, 2010. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.</ref> In 2009 James Ridgeway of ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'' wrote Angola was "An 18,000-acre complex that still resembles the [[slave plantation]] it once was."<ref>Ridgeway, James. "[http://sfbayview.com/2009/36-years-of-solitude/ 36 years of solitude]." ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'' at ''[[San Francisco Bay View]]''. March 13, 2009. Retrieved on August 26, 2010.</ref> Angola has the largest number of inmates on life sentences in the United States. As of 2009 Angola had 3,712 inmates on life sentences, making up 74% of the population that year. Some 32 inmates die each year; only four generally gain parole each year.<ref>Jervis, Rick. "[https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-11-29-prison-hospices_N.htm Inmates assist ill and dying fellow prisoners in hospices]." ([http://www.corrections.state.la.us/Wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/DITN-Angola-Hospice1.pdf alternate location] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110601232604/http://www.corrections.state.la.us/Wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/DITN-Angola-Hospice1.pdf |date=June 1, 2011 }}) ''[[USA Today]]''. Updated November 30, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2010.</ref> Louisiana's tough sentencing laws result in long sentences for the inmate population, who have been convicted of armed robbery, murder, and rape. In 1998 Peter Applebome of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "It's impossible to visit the place and not feel that a prisoner could disappear off the face of the earth and no one would ever know or care."<ref name="SecondsofF"/> Most<!--The page says "all" but it is not possible for every single one to do so--> new prisoners begin working in the cotton fields. A prisoner may spend years working there before gaining a better job.<ref name="SteinLessons"/> In Angola parlance, a "freeman" is a [[correctional officer]].<ref name="Kitchensises">[[The Kitchen Sisters]]. "[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89698695 Broncos and Boudin: The Angola Prison Rodeo]." ''[[National Public Radio]]''. April 17, 2008. Retrieved on March 12, 2011.</ref> Around 2000, the officers were among the lowest-paid in the United States. Like the prisoners they supervised, few had graduated from high school.<ref name="SteinLessons"/> As of 2009, about half of the officers were female.<ref>"[http://www.corrections.state.la.us/Wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/DITN-LSPs-Female-Officers-Nov-2009.pdf Angola experiences a "Changing of the Guard"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110601232608/http://www.corrections.state.la.us/Wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/DITN-LSPs-Female-Officers-Nov-2009.pdf |date=June 1, 2011 }}." ''[[WAFB-TV]]''. November 11, 2009. Retrieved on May 29, 2010.</ref> The administration uses prisoners to provide cleaning and general maintenance services for the West Feliciana Parish School Board and other government agencies and nonprofit groups within West Feliciana Parish.<ref>"[http://www.corrections.state.la.us/LSP/general.php General] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091020104317/http://www.corrections.state.la.us/lsp/general.php |date=October 20, 2009 }}." Louisiana State Penitentiary. Retrieved on August 26, 2010.</ref> Warden Burl Cain maintained an open-door policy with the media. He allowed the filming of the documentary ''[[The Farm: Angola, USA]]'' (1998) at the prison, which focused on the lives of six men. It won numerous awards.<ref name="HISTORY OF ANGOLA"/> Films such as ''[[Dead Man Walking (film)|Dead Man Walking]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/kqed/onenight/about/producer.html|title=And Then One Night, The Making of Dead Man Walking: About the Program: The Producer's Journey|website=www.pbs.org|access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref> ''[[Monster's Ball]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://doaskdotell.com/movies/mball.htm|title=DOASKDOTELL MOVIE REVIEWs of Monster's Ball, Shadowboxer, Patti Rocks, and related films|website=doaskdotell.com|access-date=February 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183253/http://doaskdotell.com/movies/mball.htm|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> and ''[[I Love You Phillip Morris]]'' were partly filmed in Angola. Cain did not allow a proposed sex scene between two male inmates in ''I Love You Phillip Morris'' to be filmed at the prison.<ref name=Ridgeway2>Ridgeway, James. "God's Own Warden." ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]''. July/August 2011 Issue. p. [https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/07/burl-cain-angola-prison?page=2 2]. Retrieved on March 23, 2013.</ref> The prison hosts a [[rodeo]] every April and October. Inmates produce the newsmagazine ''[[The Angolite]]'', which has won numerous awards. It is available to the general public and is relatively uncensored.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.angolarodeo.com/|title=Angola Rodeo | Louisiana State Penitentiary|website=www.angolarodeo.com|access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref> The museum features among its exhibits Louisiana's old [[electric chair]], "[[Gruesome Gertie]]", last used for the execution of [[Andrew Lee Jones]] on July 22, 1991.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} Angola Prison hosts the country's only inmate-operated radio station, KLSP.<ref>[http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/149/feature/culture/prison_radio/ "Inside Angola's Incarceration Station" by Jenny Lee Rice], ''Paste'' magazine</ref> ===Farming=== [[File:AngolaBigTopo.PNG|thumb|A topographical map, 1994, [[U.S. Geological Survey]]]] Inmates cultivate, harvest and process an array of crops that make the facility self-supporting. Crops include cabbage, corn, cotton, strawberries, okra, onions, peppers, soybeans, squash, tomatoes, and wheat. In 2013, the prison resumed growing [[sugarcane]], a practice which it had stopped in the 1970s.<ref> {{cite web |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/communities/west_feliciana/article_dbc913cb-9fc8-52ad-9de8-8ac99fc9def5.html |title=Angola inmates make sugar cane syrup the old-fashioned way |last=Hardy |first=Steve |date=23 December 2014 |website=[[The Advocate (Louisiana)|The Advocate]] |access-date=13 December 2020}}</ref> As of 2010 the prison has 2,000 head of cattle. Much of the herd is sold at markets for beef. Each year, the prison produces four million pounds of vegetable crops.<ref name="Auzenne"/> Inmates also breed and train the horses used at Angola for field work. Trustees are mounted to supervise workers in the fields. In 2010, the Angola Prison Horse Sale was initiated at the time of the annual rodeos. ===Inmate education=== Angola offers literacy classes for prisoners with no high school diploma and no [[General Equivalency Diploma]] (GED), from Monday through Friday in the main prison, and in camps C-D and F. Angola also offers GED classes in the main prison and in camps C-D and F. The prison also offers ABE ([[Adult Basic Education]]) classes for prisoners who have high school diplomas or GEDs, but who have inadequate Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) scores to get into vocational school. SSD (Special School District #1) provides services for special education students.<ref name="Education">"[http://www.corrections.state.la.us/lsp/educational_progs.php Educational Programs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023100050/http://www.corrections.state.la.us/lsp/educational_progs.php |date=October 23, 2010 }}." Louisiana State Penitentiary. Retrieved on August 29, 2010.</ref> Prisoners with satisfactory TABE scores may be admitted to vocational classes. Such classes include automotive technology, carpentry, culinary arts, graphic communications, horticulture, and welding.<ref name="Education"/> In 1995, a campus of the [[New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary]] was established in the penitentiary following an invitation from the prison warden, Burl Cain. <ref> Erik Eckholm, [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/us/bible-college-helps-some-at-louisiana-prison-find-peace.html Bible College Helps Some at Louisiana Prison Find Peace], nytimes.com, USA, October 5, 2013</ref> The school has significantly reduced the rate of violence in the prison. In 1994, the United States Congress voted to eliminate prisoner eligibility for [[Pell Grants]], making religious programs such as the New Orleans Baptist program the only ones in higher education available to prisoners.<ref name=Ridgeway3/> As of Spring 2008 95 prisoners were students in the program. Angola also offers the PREP Pre-Release Exit Program and Re-Entry Programs for prisoners who are about to be released into the outside world.<ref name="Education"/> Inmate library services are provided by the main Prison Library and four outcamp libraries. The prison is part of the Inter-Library Loan Program with the [[State Library of Louisiana]].<ref name="Activities">"[https://web.archive.org/web/20090527091213/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/a-decade-behind-bars-return-to-the-farm-4329/angola-prison-activities Angola Prison Activities]." ''[[National Geographic Channel|National Geographic]]''. Retrieved on July 24, 2010.</ref> ===Manufacturing=== Angola has several manufacturing facilities. The Farm Warehouse (914) is the point of distribution of agricultural supplies. The Mattress/Broom/Mop shop makes mattresses and cleaning tools. The Printing Shop prints documents, forms, and other printed materials. The Range Herd group manages 1,600 head of cattle. The Row Crops group harvests crops. The Silk-Screen group produces plates, badges, road and highway signs, and textiles; it also manages sales of sign hardware. The Tag Plant produces license plates for Louisiana and for overseas customers. The Tractor Repair shop repairs agricultural equipment. The Transportation Division delivers goods manufactured by the Prison Enterprises Division.<ref>"[http://www.corrections.state.la.us/lsp/prison_enterprises.php Prison Enterprises] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023100106/http://www.corrections.state.la.us/lsp/prison_enterprises.php |date=October 23, 2010 }}." Louisiana State Penitentiary. Retrieved on August 29, 2010.</ref> ===Magazine=== {{main|The Angolite}} [[File:WilbertR.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Wilbert Rideau]] was an editor of ''[[The Angolite]]'', 1975 to 2002]] ''The Angolite'' is the inmate-published and -edited magazine of the institution, which began in 1975 or 1976.<ref>"[http://www.corrections.state.la.us/LSP/programs.php Rehabilitative Services / Work Programs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214112833/http://www.corrections.state.la.us/LSP/programs.php |date=2011-02-14 }}." Louisiana State Penitentiary. Retrieved on August 29, 2010.</ref> Each year, six issues are published.<ref name="Timeinprison34"/> Louisiana prison officials believed that an independently edited publication would help the prison. ''The Angolite'' gained a national reputation as a quality magazine and won international awards under two prisoner editors, [[Wilbert Rideau]] and [[Billy Sinclair]],<ref name="TopicsofTimes">"[https://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/11/opinion/topics-of-the-times-freedom-behind-bars.html TOPICS OF THE TIMES; Freedom Behind Bars]." ''[[The New York Times]]''. May 11, 1987. Retrieved on October 7, 2010.</ref> who became co-editors in 1978.<ref>McConnaughey, Janet. (Associated Press) "[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HGwiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fqwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1252,4599421&dq=billy-sinclair+wilbert-rideau&hl=en Jailhouse journalist is released]," ''[[The Argus-Press]]''. December 24, 2000. 8A. Retrieved from ''[[Google News]]'' (5 of 25) on October 7, 2010. "Under Rideau and Billy Sinclair who became coeditor in 1978 ...</ref> Associate editor Ron Gene Wikberg joined them in 1988, moving up from a position as staff writer. He worked on the magazine until gaining parole in 1992. ===Radio=== Angola is the only penitentiary in the U.S. to be issued an FCC license to operate a radio station. '''KLSP''' ('''L'''ouisiana '''S'''tate '''P'''enitentiary) is a 100-watt radio station that operates at 91.7 on the FM dial from inside the prison to approximately 6,000 potential listeners including inmates and penitentiary staff. The station is operated by inmates and carries some satellite programming. Inside the walls of Angola, KLSP is called the "Incarceration Station"<ref name="KLSP">[http://www.corrections.state.la.us/LSP/klsp.php Louisiana State Penitentiary KLSP] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924153343/http://www.corrections.state.la.us/lsp/klsp.php |date=September 24, 2012 }} Accessed August 23, 2012</ref> The station airs a variety of programming including gospel, jazz, blues, rock-n-roll, country, and oldies music, as well as educational and religious programs.<ref name="KLSP"/> The station has 20 hours of daily airtime, and all of the music aired by the station is donated.<ref name="vonZeilbauer2"/> Music from His Radio and the Moody Ministry Broadcasting Network (MBN) airs during several hours of the day. Prisoners make the majority of broadcasting decisions.<ref name="PasteRadio2"/> A radio station was established in 1986 originally as a means of communication within the complex. Jenny Lee Rice of ''Paste'' wrote "the need to disseminate information rapidly is critical" because Angola is the largest prison in the United States.<ref name="PasteRadio1"/> The non-emergency uses of the station began in 1987 when [[Jimmy Swaggart]], an evangelist, gave the prison old equipment from his radio network.<ref>"Spinning Hope on Incarceration Station." ''[[The New York Times]]''. April 12, 2006. [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/12/arts/12radi.html?ex=1302494400&en=cb49333113b63809&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss 1]. Retrieved on August 25, 2010.</ref> In the early years, the radio station emphasized announcements and music more than religion, but in the early 21st century, it broadcast more religious programming.<ref name="Churcher83">Churcher, Kalen Mary Ann. ''Self-governance, Normalcy and Control: Inmate-produced Media at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola''. [[Pennsylvania State University]]. [[ProQuest]], 2008. p. 83. {{ISBN|0-549-92173-7}}, {{ISBN|978-0-549-92173-8}}</ref> In 2001 Christian music artist, [[Larry Howard of Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship]] visited the prison. He encouraged Jim Campbell, the President of Radio Training Network, to rebuild the station, which was off the air due to antiquated and broken equipment. The team who helped rebuild included Ted McCall (HIS Radio Chief Engineer), Jerry Williams (The Joy FM), Ben Birdsong (The Wind FM) Steve Swanson (WAFJ) and Rob Dempsey (HIS Radio). The team conducted an on-air radio fundraiser to buy new radio equipment.<ref name="vonZeilbauer2"/> The fundraiser exceeded its $80,000 goal, raising more than $124,000 within three hours. Warden Burl Cain used the funds to update the radio equipment. Ken Mayfield returned several times to Angola to train prisoner DJs in using the new electronic systems.<ref name="PasteRadio2"/> New equipment, including a new transmitter, allowed KLSP to broadcast in stereo for the first time, utilize satellite to expand its daily airtime to 20 hours, and to upgrade its programming.<ref name="vonZeilbauer2"/> As of 2012, KLSP had an output of 105 watts.<ref>[http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?list=0&facid=21792 KLSP] fcc.gov. Accessed August 9, 2012</ref> Further than {{convert|7|mi|km}} away from Angola on [[Louisiana Highway 61]], the signal begins to fade. At {{convert|10|mi|km}} listeners can hear only white noise. [[Paul von Zielbauer]] of ''The New York Times'' wrote that "Still, 100 watts does not push the station's signal far beyond the prison gate."<ref name="vonZeilbauer2"/> All 24 hours are devoted to religious programming.<ref name="Timeinprison34"/> After religion became the primary focus, some inmates stopped listening to the station.<ref name="Churcher84">Churcher, Kalen Mary Ann. ''Self-governance, Normalcy and Control: Inmate-produced Media at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola''. [[Pennsylvania State University]]. [[ProQuest]], 2008. p. 84. {{ISBN|0-549-92173-7}}, {{ISBN|978-0-549-92173-8}}</ref> ===Television=== The prison officials have started LSP-TV, a television station. According to Kalen Mary Ann Churcher of Pennsylvania State University, the television station follows the religious programming emphasis of the radio station more closely than it emulates reporting of ''[[The Angolite]]''.<ref name="Churcher83"/> But its prisoner staff and technicicans also films prisoner events, such as the [[Angola Prison Rodeo]], prize fights, and football games. As it has a closed circuit system, it allows even inmates on death row to watch the broadcasts.<ref name="10Down">''The Farm: 10 Down'' (2009), directed by Jonathan Stack</ref> ===Burial of the deceased=== Coffins for deceased prisoners are manufactured by inmates on the prison grounds. Previously, deceased prisoners were buried in cardboard boxes. After one body fell through the bottom of a box, Warden Burl Cain changed a policy, allowing for the manufacture of proper coffins for the deceased.<ref name="PasteRadio2"/> ===Death row=== In 1972, in the US Supreme Court decision in ''[[Furman v. Georgia]]'', the court found application of the death penalty so arbitrary under existing state laws that it was unconstitutional. It suspended executions for all persons on death row in the United States (slightly more than 600, overwhelmingly male) under current state laws in the United States, and ordered state courts to judicially amend their sentences to the next lower level of severity, generally life in prison. Louisiana passed a new death penalty statute, which was overturned by the state supreme court in 1977 for its application to convictions for rape. The death penalty statute was amended again, effective September 1977. Louisiana did not execute any prisoners until 1983. According to Louisiana Department of Corrections policy, inmates on death row are held in solitary confinement during the entire time they are incarcerated, even if appeals take years. This means that they are severely isolated and confined to their windowless cells for 23 hours per day. For one hour per day<ref name="Varnado182"/> an inmate may take a shower and/or move up and down the halls under escort. Three times a week an inmate is permitted to use the exercise yard. Death row inmates are allowed to have several books at a time, and each inmate may have one five-minute personal telephone call per month. They may not participate in education or work programs. Death row inmates receive unlimited visitor access.<ref name="Varnado183">Varnado, Michael L. and Daniel P. Smith. ''Victims of Dead Man Walking''. [[Pelican Publishing]], 2003. [https://books.google.com/books?id=vSdXjSNM1lwC&dq=%22cells+is+to+be+used+to+take+a+shower+or%22&pg=PA183 183]. Retrieved from [[Google Books]] on November 2, 2010. {{ISBN|1-58980-156-3}}, {{ISBN|978-1-58980-156-1}}.</ref> Officers patrol the death row corridors nightly as a suicide prevention tactic. [[Nick Trenticosta]], a New Orleans attorney with the [[ACLU]] who is involved with prison issues, has said that warden Burl Cain treated death row inmates in a more favorable manner than did wardens of other death row prisons in the United States. Trenticosta said "It is not that these guys had super privileges. But Warden Cain was somewhat responsive to not only prisoners, but to their families."<ref name="Ridgeway3"/> In March 2017, three death row inmates at Angola filed a federal class-action suit against the prison and LDOC over its solitary confinement policy, charging that it constituted "[[cruel and unusual punishment]]" under the [[8th Amendment to the US Constitution]]. Each of the men had been held in solitary for more than 25 years.<ref name="nytSuit">[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/30/us/3-men-on-death-row-in-louisiana-sue-over-solitary-confinement.html?_r=0 LIAM STACK, "3 Men on Death Row in Louisiana Sue Over Solitary Confinement"], ''New York Times'', March 30, 2017; accessed March 30, 2017</ref> The lawsuit describes basic conditions on death row:<ref name="Deadspin">{{cite web | url=http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/at-angola-death-row-is-psychological-torture-1793819095 | title=At Angola, Death Row Is Psychological Torture | publisher=[[Deadspin]] | work=The Concourse | date=March 30, 2017 | access-date=July 19, 2017 | author=Nolan, Hamilton}}</ref> * sparse cells, hot in summer, with little natural light * lack of recreation * no hobbies * very little religion This lawsuit was settled in October 2021, requiring that inmates on death row are granted a minimum of four hours out of their cells to congregate with other incarcerated people in their tier each day, at least five hours of communal outdoor recreation each week, the ability to worship together, evening time out of their cells on their tier, at least one meal with other prisoners per day, group classes and contact visitations.<ref name="DRsettlement">[https://www.wwno.org/news/2021-10-01/judge-approves-settlement-in-lawsuit-that-challenged-the-use-of-solitary-confinement-on-death-row Bobbi-Jeanne Misick, "Judge approves settlement in lawsuit that challenged the use of solitary confinement on death row"], ''WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio'', October 1, 2021; accessed September 18, 2022</ref> ===Execution=== Male death row inmates are moved from the Reception Center to a cell near the [[execution chamber]] in Camp F on the day of the execution. The only person informed of the exact time when a prisoner will be transferred is the Warden; this is for security reasons and so as to not disrupt prison routine. On a scheduled execution date, an execution can occur between 6 p.m. and midnight. Michael L. Varnado and Daniel P. Smith of ''Victims of Dead Man Walking'' stated that, on many occasions, the rest of Angola is not aware of the execution being carried out. In 2003, Assistant Warden of the Reception Center Lee said that once death row inmates learn of the execution, they "get a little quieter" and "[i]t suddenly becomes more real to them."<ref name="Varnado184"/> When the State of Louisiana used electrocution as its method of capital punishment, it formally referred to the anonymous executioner as "The Electrician". When the State of Louisiana referred to the executioner by name, he was called "Sam Jones", after [[Sam H. Jones]], the Governor of Louisiana in power when electrocution was introduced as the capital punishment.<ref name="Varnado189">Varnado, Michael L. and Daniel P. Smith. ''Victims of Dead Man Walking''. [[Pelican Publishing]], 2003. [https://books.google.com/books?id=vSdXjSNM1lwC&dq=%22His+real+identity+is+secret.+When+he+is+referred+to+by+name%2C%22&pg=PA189 189]. Retrieved from [[Google Books]] on November 2, 2010. {{ISBN|1-58980-156-3}}, {{ISBN|978-1-58980-156-1}}.</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page