Louisiana State Penitentiary

===21st century===
In 2004, Paul Harris of ''The Guardian'' wrote "Unsurprisingly, Angola has always been famed for brutality, riots, escape and murder."<ref>Harris, Paul. "[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/aug/29/usa.paulharris America's hell-hole jail finds God – and redemption]." ''[[The Guardian]]''. August 29, 2004. Retrieved on November 2, 2010.</ref>

On August 31, 2008, New Orleans mayor [[Ray Nagin]] stated in a press conference that anyone arrested for looting during the evacuation of the city due to [[Hurricane Gustav]] would not be housed in the city/parish jail, but instead sent directly to Angola to await trial.<ref>"[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-gustav_nu_ledeall_wittsep01-story.html Gustav bears down on Gulf Coast]", ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. August 31, 2008. Retrieved on July 3, 2015.</ref>

As evidence that the prison had retained its notoriety, Nagin warned:

{{blockquote|Anybody who is caught looting in the city of New Orleans will go directly to Angola. Directly to Angola. You will not have a temporary stay in the city. You go directly to the big house, in general population. All right? So, I want to make sure that every looter, potential looter, understands that. You will go directly to Angola Prison. And God bless you when you go there.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/31/cnr.04.html Transcript] of [[CNN Newsroom]], 2008-08-31</ref>}}

In 2009, the prison reduced its budget by $12&nbsp;million by "double bunking" (installing bunk beds to increase the capacity of dormitories), reducing overtime, and replacing officers with security cameras.<ref>Chacko, Sarah. "Warden, legislators look at Angola, budget." ''2theadvocate.'' November 21, 2009. 1A. [http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/70682582.html?index=1&c=y 1]. Retrieved on October 19, 2010.</ref>

In 2012, 1,000 prisoners were transferred to Angola from [[C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center]], which had closed. The state government did not increase the prison's budget, nor did it hire additional employees.<ref>{{cite news|author=Shen, Aviva|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/29/angola-prison-rodeo-louisiana|title=Angola prison rodeo offers risks and rewards for Louisiana's hard-knock lifers|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=October 29, 2016|access-date=October 12, 2017|quote=[http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/c_paul_phelps_prison_shuts_dow.htmlA prison closure] in 2012 sent 1,000 additional inmates to Angola with no increased budget or staff, according to Francis Abbott, a corrections supervisor with the re-entry program.}} – The linked article is {{cite web|url=http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/c_paul_phelps_prison_shuts_dow.html|title=State closes prison in DeQuincy as cost-cutting measure|publisher=Associated Press at [[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]|date=November 1, 2012|access-date=December 10, 2017}}</ref>

On March 11, 2014, Glenn Ford, a man wrongfully convicted of murder and Louisiana's longest-serving death row prisoner, walked free after a court overturned his conviction a day earlier when petitioned by prosecutors. Ford had spent nearly three decades at the prison, with 26 years in [[solitary confinement]] on death row.<ref>"[https://archive.today/20140313033531/http://www.louisiana.statenews.net/index.php/sid/220408852/scat/58efbe858884606b/ht/Judge-vacates-conviction-to-set-free-man-on-death-row Judge vacates conviction to set free man on death row]." ''Louisiana State News.Net''. March 12, 2014. Retrieved on March 12, 2014.</ref><!-- expand --> The state's policy was to house death row prisoners in solitary confinement, but lengthy appeals have created new harsh conditions of extended solitary. Convicts and their defense counsels have challenged such lengthy stays in solitary confinement, which has been shown to be deleterious to both mental and physical health, and has been considered to be "cruel and unusual punishment" under the US Constitution.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Skene |first1=Lea |last2=Toohey |first2=Grace |title=Reports of sex, smuggling contraband, more at Angola as 7 employees resign, 4 arrested |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_bcce5a5a-4733-11e9-beb0-7b852489518d.html? |access-date=March 16, 2019 |publisher=The Advocate |date=March 15, 2019}}</ref>

In March 2019, seven members of staff at the facility were arrested for rape, smuggling items to inmates, and maintaining personal relationships with prisoners.<ref>{{cite news |title=Multiple Angola employees have been arrested after DOC investigation |url=https://wgno.com/2019/03/18/multiple-arrests-and-resignations-after-doc-investigation-at-angola/ |work=WGNO |date=March 18, 2019}}</ref>

In 2020, regarding the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana]], ''[[ProPublica]]'' wrote that prisoners alleged that deliberate low testing rates masked an epidemic in the prison.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last1=Rubin|first1=Anat|last2=Golden|first2=Tim|last3=Webster|first3=Richard A.|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-the-uss-largest-maximum-security-prison-covid-19-raged|title=Inside the U.S.'s Largest Maximum-Security Prison, COVID-19 Raged. Outside, Officials Called Their Fight a Success.|work=[[ProPublica]]|date=2020-06-24|access-date=2020-08-30}}</ref> Prison officials denied the prisoner's allegations.<ref name=":0"/> Prisoners also allege they were treated with over-the-counter medications, and "four of the 12 prisoners who have died in the pandemic...had been denied needed medical help for days because their symptoms were not considered sufficiently serious".<ref name=":0"/> ''ProPublica'' also wrote that some sick inmates "concealed their symptoms to try to avoid losing their freedom of movement and other privileges" because of extended quarantines.<ref name=":0"/>