Louisiana State Penitentiary

===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>