Angola's Prison: Escapes And The Quest For Freedom

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, is a maximum-security prison with a long history of violence and brutality. It is the largest maximum-security prison in the US, with 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff. It is located on an 18,000-acre site, surrounded by swampland and the Mississippi River, and over 90% of inmates who are sent to Angola die within the prison walls.

The prison has a long history of escape attempts, some successful, some not. In 1928, 13 prisoners attempted to escape, resulting in a gunfight that left five prisoners dead. In 1956, five men escaped by digging their way out of the prison and swimming across the Mississippi River. In 1999, six prisoners took three officers hostage, resulting in the death of one officer and one prisoner. In 2013, two inmates escaped from the exercise yard and were captured a few hours later.

Angola Prison, Louisiana, 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. Located in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, the prison is set between oxbow lakes on the east side of a bend in the Mississippi River and is flanked on three sides by water. The prison is around 22 miles northwest of St. Francisville, Louisiana, and less than 2 miles south of Louisiana's border with Mississippi.

The prison sits on 28 square miles of land that was once the Angola Plantations, a slave plantation owned by slave trader Isaac Franklin before the American Civil War. The prison is named after the country of Angola, from which many enslaved people originated before arriving in Louisiana. The Louisiana State Penitentiary opened in 1901 and currently houses around 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff, including corrections officers, janitors, maintenance workers, and wardens. Due to its large population, it has been nicknamed "a gated community."

The prison has a storied history, having been dubbed "America's Bloodiest Prison" due to its instability and history of violence. In the 1930s, one in every ten inmates was stabbed, and racial tensions contributed to the violence within its walls. In the 1990s, Angola Prison was the site of several hostage-taking incidents and escape attempts, some of which resulted in fatalities. The prison has also been criticised for its harsh conditions, with inmates subjected to extended periods of solitary confinement and inadequate medical care.

Despite its troubled past, efforts have been made to reform and improve conditions at Angola Prison. In recent years, the prison has implemented educational and vocational programs, as well as faith-based mental health interventions, to assist in the rehabilitation of inmates. The prison also hosts a biannual rodeo, which attracts thousands of visitors, and has become a sought-after tour destination for school groups, churches, and criminal justice professionals interested in learning about the prison's history and current initiatives.

It is named after the country of Angola, from where many enslaved people originated before arriving in Louisiana

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, is a maximum-security prison farm in Louisiana. It is named after the Angola Plantation, which occupied the territory before the prison was built. The plantation, in turn, was named after the country of Angola, from where many enslaved people originated before arriving in Louisiana.

The Kingdom of Kongo, which included the territory of modern-day Angola, was the hegemonic state of a number of other Kikongo-speaking kingdoms that flourished in and after the 14th century. The Portuguese established relations with the Kingdom of Kongo in 1483, and additional migrants gradually began building coastal settlements and trading posts. The slave trade was the primary economic sector in the Kingdom of Kongo, and slaves were the only commodity for which European powers were willing to trade.

The Atlantic slave trade continued until the 19th century, when it was banned in Angola in 1836. The banning of the slave trade severely disrupted the Kingdom of Kongo's undiversified economic system. The Portuguese colony that became Angola did not achieve its present borders until the early 20th century.

Many enslaved Angolans were transported via the Atlantic slave trade to the United States. Enslaved Angolans were the first Africans in Virginia and were likely the first in all of the Thirteen Colonies. In 1621, an Angolan former slave named Anthony Johnson arrived in Virginia and became the first documented black slave in the Thirteen Colonies to earn his freedom and own slaves himself.

In 1644, 6,900 slaves on the African coast were purchased to clear forests, lay roads, build houses and public buildings, and grow food. Most of these slaves were from the company's colonies in the West Indies, but they also came from established stations in Angola. During the colonial period, people from the region Congo-Angola made up 25% of the slaves in North America.

In Louisiana, about 50 miles from Baton Rouge, there is a place called Angola. This is an old plantation of 7,200 hectares, where most of the slaves were from Angola and, in 1835, it became the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as The Farm or Angola.

In 1999, a guard and a prisoner were killed during a hostage standoff

On December 28, 1999, a guard and a prisoner were killed during a hostage standoff at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola. The incident began at around 8:30 p.m. in Camp D, an 850-bed unit of cellblocks and dormitories. Six inmates, all serving life without parole, took three corrections officers hostage. The inmates were armed with a homemade knife, a small hammer, and other rudimentary weapons. They bludgeoned and fatally stabbed 49-year-old Captain David Knapps, a 12-year veteran at Angola, when he refused to give up his keys. Knapps, like many Angola employees, came from a family of prison guards.

A sergeant, Reddia Walker, noticed the attack and sounded the alarm before running to help. She and another guard, Lieutenant Douglas Chaney, were taken hostage along with Captain Knapps. Warden Burl Cain arrived with the prison's tactical team and began negotiating with the prisoners. After a two-hour standoff, the tactical team stormed the hostage-takers. One inmate, 26-year-old Joel Durham, lunged at Sergeant Walker with a knife and was shot and killed instantly. Another inmate, David Mathis, was shot in the mouth but survived. The remaining five prisoners were charged with first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping.

In 2013, two inmates escaped from Angola Prison and were captured hours later

Johnson and Francois were serving life sentences without the possibility of parole and were cellmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola. The penitentiary, located in West Feliciana Parish, is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, with 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff. It is nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South" and "The Farm".

The two inmates broke through the bottom of a fencing area, using work gloves and a blue jean jacket to get through the razor wire on the second fence. They were in possession of a large quantity of pepper, which they used to throw off the scent of the dogs, and roughly 30 bags of peanuts, which they planned to eat.

The Angola Chase Team, including the K9 team, boat crew, and thermal imagery teams, reported immediately and surrounded a wooded area where the inmates were last seen. The inmates surrendered upon the orders of staff, and no deadly force was employed during the apprehension. Johnson and Francois were then taken to the prison's medical centre for treatment and evaluation.

Over 90% of inmates sent to Angola will die on the premises

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, more commonly 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 is located in West Feliciana Parish, flanked on three sides by water from the Mississippi River and nearby lakes.

Angola's history is steeped in violence and brutality. The prison sits on the former site of the Angola Plantations, a slave plantation that occupied the territory before the American Civil War. The prison was opened in 1901, and its early years were marked by frequent escape attempts and deadly force used by guards.

Today, Angola still struggles with a high rate of inmate deaths. On average, 32 inmates die each year, with only about four gaining parole annually. This means that over 90% of inmates will die within the prison. Angola has a large population of inmates serving life sentences, with 3,712 inmates on life sentences as of 2009. The prison also has a history of tough sentencing laws, with inmates convicted of armed robbery, murder, and rape often receiving long sentences.

In addition to the high rate of inmate deaths, Angola has also been criticised for its conditions. In 1952, 31 inmates cut their Achilles tendons in protest of the prison's conditions, leading to national news agencies exposing Angola as "the worst prison in America". More recently, in 2020, prisoners alleged that the prison was deliberately understating COVID-19 testing rates, masking an epidemic within the facility.

Angola's history and current state reflect a larger issue of mass incarceration in Louisiana. With the highest incarceration rate in the country, Louisiana has been dubbed the "incarceration capital of the world". This is particularly evident at Angola, where the majority of inmates are serving life sentences and the rate of inmate deaths is high.

Frequently asked questions