Angola Prison: How Far Is It Really?

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. Located in West Feliciana Parish, it is set between oxbow lakes on the east side of a bend in the Mississippi River. The prison is about 22 miles northwest of St. Francisville, 50 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, and 135 miles northwest of New Orleans.

The prison is built on the site of a former slave plantation, from which it gets its name. Angola was once known as The Bloodiest Prison in the World but has improved following decades of reform. It is the subject of ongoing lawsuits regarding excessive heat and insufficient medical care.

Angola Prison is located in Louisiana, at the end of Highway 66

Angola Prison, officially known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is located in Louisiana, at the end of Highway 66. The prison is approximately 22 miles northwest of the town of St. Francisville, Louisiana, and is accessible via Highway 61.

The Louisiana State Penitentiary is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, with a population of 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff members, including corrections officers, janitors, maintenance workers, and wardens. The prison is situated in West Feliciana Parish, nestled between oxbow lakes on the east side of a bend in the Mississippi River, resulting in water flanking three sides of the prison.

The history of the prison dates back to the pre-American Civil War era, when the land was known as the Angola Plantations, a slave plantation owned by slave trader Isaac Franklin. The prison got its name, "Angola," from the former slave plantation that once occupied the territory, which was named after the country of Angola, from which many enslaved people originated before arriving in Louisiana.

The Louisiana State Penitentiary has a storied past, earning the nickname "America's Bloodiest Prison." Today, the prison strives to provide custody, control, care, and treatment for incarcerated individuals while also offering various programs aimed at rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

It is the largest maximum-security prison in the US, with 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola, is the largest maximum-security prison in the US. It houses 6,300 prisoners and has 1,800 staff, including corrections officers, janitors, maintenance workers, and wardens.

Angola is located in West Feliciana Parish, in east central Louisiana. It is set between oxbow lakes on the east side of a bend in the Mississippi River and is flanked on three sides by water. It is about 22 miles northwest of St. Francisville, 50 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, and 135 miles northwest of New Orleans. The Mississippi River borders the facility on three sides, and the prison is near the Louisiana-Mississippi border.

Angola is a working farm, and prisoners cultivate various crops, including cabbage, corn, cotton, strawberries, okra, onions, peppers, soybeans, squash, tomatoes, and wheat. The prison also has 2,000 head of cattle, and each year, the prison produces four million pounds of vegetable crops. Prisoners also breed and train horses used for field work.

Angola is known for its brutal conditions, and it has been the subject of much criticism, litigation, and reform efforts. Inmates have reported widespread illness, dysfunctional care, and neglect during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prison has a history of violence, and in the past, guards have brutalized inmates, and inmates have beaten, raped, and murdered one another.

The prison offers various programs and facilities for inmates, including educational programs, religious services, and recreational facilities such as ball fields, a golf course, and a swimming pool. Angola also has an inmate-operated radio station, KLSP, and publishes a magazine, The Angolite.

The prison has a long history, dating back to the 19th century when the land was a slave plantation. After the Civil War, the land was purchased by a former Confederate major, who used convict lease labour to produce cotton. The Louisiana State Penitentiary was established on the site in 1901, and it has since become the largest maximum-security prison in the US.

Angola was once known as The Bloodiest Prison in the World

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison, was once known as "The Bloodiest Prison in the South" due to its high rate of inmate assaults. The prison has a long and violent history, having earned nicknames such as "The Bloodiest Prison in America" and "Alcatraz of the South." Located in a remote region of Louisiana, the prison was originally an 8,000-acre plantation in West Feliciana Parish called Angola, named after the homeland of its slaves.

In the early 20th century, the Louisiana Board of Control purchased Angola, and in 1901, the state took control of the prison following news reports of brutality against inmates. Throughout the decades, the prison faced numerous challenges due to its geography and administration. Bounded on three sides by the Mississippi River, the prison's crops, a key source of funding, were destroyed by floods in 1902, 1912, and 1922. During the Great Depression, budget cuts led to poor conditions, prompting 31 inmates to slice their Achilles tendons in protest of the hard labour and brutality.

In the 1950s, the prison underwent major renovations, improvements in medical care, and other upgrades after a new governor fulfilled his campaign promise to clean up Angola. However, in the 1960s, Angola once again fell on hard times, earning its nickname as the "bloodiest prison" due to the high rate of inmate assaults. It was during this time that the prison experienced 1,346 assaults, including both inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff attacks.

Today, Angola Prison is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, housing about 6,300 inmates and employing around 1,800 workers. While the prison has calmed down in recent years, it still faces legal battles concerning its conditions.

Angola has its own rodeo, radio show and news magazine

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola, is a maximum-security prison farm in Louisiana. It is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, with 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff.

Angola has its own rodeo, radio show, and news magazine. The Angola Prison Rodeo is an annual event held every Sunday in October. It was first held in 1965 and now attracts thousands of visitors. The rodeo includes a semi-annual Arts and Crafts Festival and the Angola Prison Horse Sale.

KLSP 91.7 FM is the only FCC-licensed radio station in the United States to operate from within a prison by inmate disc jockeys. The station has been running since 1986 and has a potential audience of 6,000 listeners, including staff, inmates, and visitors. KLSP provides a space for direct communication and expression through music and musical commentary.

The Angolite is the inmate-edited and published prison magazine of the Louisiana State Penitentiary. It was first published in 1975 or 1976 and has gained a national reputation for its reporting, winning several awards. The Angolite was the first prison publication to be nominated for a National Magazine Award.

Inmates work in the fields on a former slave plantation

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, is a maximum-security prison farm in Louisiana. It is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, with 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff. The prison sits on 18,000 acres of land that was once a slave plantation.

The Angola plantation was established in the 19th century and was originally owned by Isaac Franklin, a planter and slave trader. After his death in 1846, his widow, Adelicia, inherited the property. In 1880, she sold the plantation to Samuel Lawrence James, a former Confederate major.

Under Major James' ownership, Angola became part of the convict lease system, where convicts were leased from the state as workers. This system was brutal and deadly, with annual convict death rates ranging from 16 to 25 percent. In 1894, Major James died, and in 1898, Louisiana banned convict leasing. The state purchased Angola from James' estate in 1900 and opened it as a state prison in 1901.

Today, inmates at Angola continue to work in the fields, tending and harvesting crops such as cabbage, corn, cotton, strawberries, and soybeans. This work is grueling and physically demanding, requiring inmates to spend long hours doing manual labor in the hot sun. Inmates are paid very low wages for their work, earning as little as 2 cents an hour.

In recent years, there have been protests and lawsuits filed by inmates demanding an end to what they call "modern-day slavery." Inmates argue that the work is exploitative and that they are not adequately protected from the extreme heat. A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order, finding that correctional officials have shown "deliberate indifference" to the risks of heat-related injuries or death.

The history of Angola, from a slave plantation to a prison farm, serves as a stark reminder of the legacy of slavery and its continued impact on the present-day prison system.

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