Angola Prison: A Living Nightmare

Angola Prison, also known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is one of the most dangerous prisons in the American penal system. It is the country's largest maximum-security adult prison, with thousands of inmates destined never to leave. Angola has a reputation for brutal beatings by guards and inmate-on-inmate violence. The prison has also been criticised for its inhumane conditions, including a lack of air conditioning, poor-quality food, and water from unsanitary faucets. Prisoners are forced to work in the prison's fields for little to no pay, enduring dangerous temperatures and the threat of punishment if they refuse or fail to meet quotas. The prison has also been accused of neglecting prisoners' healthcare needs, leading to preventable deaths.

Angola Prison is the largest maximum-security prison in the US

Angola Prison, officially known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is the largest maximum-security prison in the US. It is located in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, and is operated by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. The prison sits on 28 square miles of land between oxbow lakes on the east side of a bend in the Mississippi River, flanked on three sides by water.

The prison is named after the former slave plantation that occupied this territory. The plantation was named after the country of Angola, from which many enslaved people originated before arriving in Louisiana. The prison was once known as "America's bloodiest prison" due to its violent reputation and inhumane conditions.

Angola Prison currently houses 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff, including corrections officers, janitors, maintenance workers, and wardens. It is considered a "gated community" due to these large numbers. The inmates live in several housing units scattered across the Angola grounds, with most living in dormitories instead of cell blocks.

The prison has a long history of violence, brutality, and inhumane conditions. In the past, guards have brutalized inmates, and inmates have beaten, raped, and murdered one another. Even today, prisoners are subjected to cruel and degrading treatment, dangerous working conditions, and inadequate medical care.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, inmates at Angola Prison reported widespread illness, dysfunctional care, and deadly neglect. Prison officials denied these allegations, claiming that they were successfully managing the pandemic. However, inmates and their families reported that their loved ones were denied medical help and that testing was deliberately limited.

Angola Prison has also been criticized for its treatment of incarcerated youths. In 2022, the prison began housing children between the ages of 14 and 18 in unsafe conditions, subjecting them to inhumane punishments and failing to provide adequate educational and mental health services. A federal judge ordered the relocation of these youths in September 2023, deeming their treatment "unconstitutional."

Despite some efforts at reform, Angola Prison continues to face scrutiny for its conditions and treatment of inmates. With its large population, violent history, and ongoing issues, Angola Prison remains a notable and controversial presence in the US correctional system.

Inmates suffer from a lack of healthcare and cruel treatment

Angola Prison, officially known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, has a long history of cruel treatment and a lack of adequate healthcare for its inmates. The prison, located in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, with a capacity of 6,300 prisoners. It has a notorious reputation for brutal beatings by guards and violent fights among inmates.

Cruel Treatment

Angola Prison has a history of inhumane treatment of prisoners, including the use of handcuffs, pepper spray, and extended solitary confinement as punishment. In 2023, a federal judge ordered the prison to relocate incarcerated youths due to unsafe conditions and inhumane punishments. The youths, mostly Black boys, were subjected to extreme heat without air conditioning, given unsanitary water, and denied family visits.

The prison has also been criticised for its use of forced labour. Inmates, most of whom are Black, are forced to work in the prison's fields with little to no pay, under the threat of punishment. If they refuse or fail to meet quotas, they face solitary confinement and other disciplinary measures. This has been described as "purely punitive" and designed to "break" the incarcerated men.

Lack of Healthcare

Angola Prison has also faced scrutiny for its inadequate healthcare system, with inmates suing for what they call substandard medical care that has caused "needless pain and suffering." The prison, located in a remote area, relies on a small team of medical staff to meet the needs of over 6,000 inmates. This has led to lapses in medical care, with inmates reporting issues such as receiving incorrect medication and a lack of proper equipment and medication.

In one case, an inmate, Francis Brauner, suffered a sharp pain in his back while working in the fields and was left unattended in a bed for a month, developing severe bedsores that nearly killed him. Another inmate, Farrell Sampier, was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder, and was placed in hospice care despite being capable of treatment and potential recovery. His condition was likely triggered by unsanitary conditions in the jail, and he suffered from infected bedsores and inadequate medical care, ultimately leading to his death.

Angola Prison's healthcare system has been deemed so inadequate that a federal judge ruled in 2015 and 2024 that it violated the Eighth Amendment rights of prisoners, constituting cruel and unusual punishment.

The prison is forced to labour on a farm for little to no pay

Angola Prison, also known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is a maximum-security prison with a brutal reputation. It is the country's largest maximum-security adult prison and was once known as "America's bloodiest prison". It has a history of violent beatings by guards and fights among inmates.

In September 2023, a class-action lawsuit was filed by prisoners at Angola Prison, alleging that they are forced to work in the prison's fields for little to no pay, in dangerous and degrading conditions. The prison sits on 18,000 acres of land that was once a slave plantation. The prisoners, most of whom are Black, are made to hoe, weed, and pick crops by hand, often in extreme heat and surrounded by armed guards. They are forced to work even when temperatures soar past 100 degrees, with heat indexes of up to 145. The conditions are especially dangerous for those with disabilities or health conditions. The prisoners are denied access to clean drinking water, protective gear, and modern agricultural tools. They are also routinely denied sunscreen and forced to work without shade, placing them at risk of serious heat-related disorders, including fainting, heat cramps, and heat stroke, which can lead to death or permanent disability.

If the prisoners refuse to work or fail to meet quotas, they face punishment, including solitary confinement. The lawsuit describes the labour as "purely punitive, designed to 'break' incarcerated men and ensure their submission". The suit names Angola's warden, Timothy Hooper, and officials from the Louisiana Department of Corrections and Prison Enterprises, as defendants.

The prison's agricultural program is framed as rehabilitative, providing work and teaching skills to prisoners. However, critics argue that it is inherently punitive and connected to slavery. The crops grown by prisoners are sold on the open market, generating profit for the state. While the program is touted as a way to offset the cost of incarceration, it has been criticised for failing to provide meaningful job skills, especially since nearly 40% of the workers are serving life sentences.

The lawsuit seeks to end the practice of compulsory agricultural labour at Angola Prison and calls for policy changes to address the dangerous working conditions. A federal judge has acknowledged the "substantial risk of injury or death" posed by the extreme heat, ordering corrections officials to make updates to their heat-related policies to "preserve human health and safety".

The prison has a history of housing incarcerated youth

The Angola prison in Louisiana, also known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, has a history of housing incarcerated youth. In July 2022, Governor John Bel Edwards announced a plan to transfer incarcerated youth with a history of violence to Angola Prison. This decision was made after six children escaped from the Bridge City Center for Youth, committed a carjacking, and shot the driver.

The plan was met with strong criticism from human rights and criminal justice reform advocates due to the prison's violent reputation, inhumane conditions, and documented history of mistreating prisoners. Despite the criticism, the transfer of the youths to Angola Prison went ahead, with state officials stressing that it was only a temporary measure.

The incarcerated youths at Angola Prison, mostly Black boys between the ages of 14 and 18, were subjected to unsafe conditions and inhumane punishments. They were held in buildings without air conditioning during dangerous heatwaves, with temperatures reaching as high as 130 degrees Fahrenheit. They were given unsanitary water and poor-quality food. The youths were punished with handcuffs, pepper spray, denial of family visits, and extended time in solitary confinement. They were also allegedly deprived of adequate educational and mental health services.

In August 2023, a federal judge ordered the Louisiana State Penitentiary to relocate all incarcerated youths from the former death row building, citing unsafe and unconstitutional living conditions. This decision was welcomed by advocates and activists who had been fighting for the removal of youths from Angola Prison.

Angola Prison was built on a former slave plantation

Angola Prison, officially known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, was built on a former slave plantation. The 18,000-acre complex is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, with over 6,000 inmates and 1,800 staff. It is located in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, and is surrounded on three sides by the Mississippi River.

The prison site was known as the Angola Plantations before the American Civil War, a slave plantation owned by slave trader Isaac Franklin. The plantation was named after the country of Angola, from which many enslaved people originated before arriving in Louisiana. Many of the ancestors of those enslaved people had arrived in Louisiana as early as 1722.

In the 1830s, the state of Louisiana established its first prison in Baton Rouge. In 1844, the state governor, Alexandre Mouton, who was born on a slave plantation, established a "convict lease system." This allowed private contractors to exploit the free labour of inmates, most of whom were slaves or former slaves, in exchange for nominal fees to the state.

In 1870, following the Civil War and the collapse of Louisiana's economy, the state awarded its convict-lease system to Samuel Lawrence James, a former Confederate major and ruthless human profiteer. James purchased the Angola plantation in 1880 and ruled over a brutal convict work system. He housed Black convicts in the plantation's former slave quarters and forced them to work the land. This convict lease system was so profitable that, in 1901, the state of Louisiana purchased the plantation back from James and continued the slave-like penal enterprise.

Today, Angola Prison remains overcrowded, with roughly 75% of its inmate population being Black, while the state's Black population is slightly over 30%. Inmates are forced to work the prison's fields for little or no pay, even when temperatures soar past 100 degrees. If they refuse, they are punished with solitary confinement. Angola has a long history of dangerous and inhumane conditions, and it has been referred to as "the worst prison in America."

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