White Males In Prison: Angola's Stark Reality

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola, is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. It is located in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, and is surrounded on three sides by the Mississippi River. The prison has a long and troubled history, including brutality against inmates, and was taken over by the state of Louisiana in 1901.

Angola currently has around 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff, including corrections officers, janitors, maintenance workers, and wardens. The prison population is almost entirely African American, while the officers are entirely white.

While the exact number of white males in the prison is unclear, it is estimated that around 24% of the prisoners at Angola are white, which would equate to around 1,512 white male inmates. However, this number may have changed in recent years due to prison reform efforts.

Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, is the largest maximum-security prison in the US

Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. Located in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, the prison is situated between oxbow lakes on the east side of a bend in the Mississippi River. It is named after a former slave plantation that once occupied the territory. The plantation, in turn, was named after the country of Angola, from which many enslaved people originated before arriving in Louisiana.

The prison sits on 28 square miles of land that was once the Angola Plantations, a slave plantation owned by slave trader Isaac Franklin. The prison is located about 22 miles northwest of St. Francisville and less than two miles south of Louisiana's border with Mississippi. It is set in a remote location, surrounded on three sides by water, with the Tunica Hills to the north.

Angola has a long and troubled history. Before the American Civil War, enslaved people were forced to work on the plantation. After the war, the land was purchased by Samuel Lawrence James, a former Confederate major, who continued to use forced labour to produce cotton. Under the convict lease system, James leased convicts from the state as workers, subjecting them to harsh conditions, abuse, and unregulated violence.

In 1901, the state of Louisiana took over the facility, and it became the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Over the years, the prison has been the site of numerous escapes, riots, and murders. Conditions were notoriously brutal and squalid, leading to widespread calls for reform. In the 1970s, the American Bar Association and the US courts criticised the conditions and ordered an end to the Trustee-Officer and Trusty systems.

Today, Angola remains the largest correctional facility in the United States by population, with 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff. It is known for its self-sufficiency, with inmates cultivating crops, raising livestock, and manufacturing various products. The prison also offers educational and vocational programs for inmates, as well as faith-based mental health interventions and palliative care.

Angola has been featured in several documentaries and films, including "The Farm: Angola, USA" and "Dead Man Walking." It also hosts a biannual rodeo and arts and crafts festival, attracting thousands of visitors.

Angola is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, in a remote region of Louisiana

Angola, also known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is located in a remote region of Louisiana. It is situated in West Feliciana Parish, in east central Louisiana, at the base of the Tunica Hills. The prison is about 22 miles northwest of St. Francisville, about 50 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, and 135 miles northwest of New Orleans.

Angola is set on the west bank of a bend in the Mississippi River, between oxbow lakes, and is thus flanked on three sides by water. The Mississippi River borders the facility on three sides, and the Tunica Hills surround the rest of the prison property. The perimeter of the property is not fenced, but the individual prisoner dormitory and recreational camps are. The prison grounds occupy a 28-square-mile area, which is larger than the size of Manhattan.

The prison is located at the end of Louisiana Highway 66, a winding, often muddy state road. The main entrance is about 2 miles north of St. Francisville, along U.S. Highway 61. The Angola Ferry provides a ferry service from the prison to a point in unincorporated Pointe Coupee Parish. The prison is also accessible via an airstrip, which is used by state-owned aircraft for transporting prisoners and officials.

The Angola Museum, a former bank building, is located outside the prison's main gate.

The prison is named after the former slave plantation that occupied its land

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola, is a maximum-security prison in Louisiana. It is named after the former slave plantation that occupied its land.

The 28 square miles of land that the prison sits on was known as the Angola Plantations before the American Civil War. The plantation was owned by slave trader Isaac Franklin and was named after the country of Angola, from which many of the enslaved people originated before arriving in Louisiana.

In the 1830s, Isaac Franklin purchased the four contiguous plantations that would become the Angola plantation from Francis Rout. After Franklin's death in 1846, his widow, Adelicia Cheatham, sold the plantations to former Confederate Major Samuel Lawrence James in 1880.

Under James' ownership, the plantation was run using convict lease labour. James was responsible for the room and board of the convicts and had total authority over them. During this time, the state passed laws directed at African Americans, requiring payment of minor fees and fines as punishment for infractions. Many cash-poor men in the agricultural economy were forced into jail and convict labour. These convicts were often abused, underfed, and subject to unregulated violence.

In 1880, the same year that James purchased the Angola plantation, the state penitentiary was relocated to Angola, and inmates were housed in the old slave quarters and put to work on the plantation. After news reports of brutality against inmates, the state of Louisiana took control of the prison in 1901.

Today, Angola is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, with 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff. It is located in West Feliciana Parish, less than two miles south of Louisiana's border with Mississippi. The prison is flanked on three sides by water, with the Mississippi River to the east and oxbow lakes to the north and west.

Angola has a violent history, previously being called the bloodiest prison in the South

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. It has a violent history, previously being called the "bloodiest prison in the South" due to its high rate of inmate assaults.

In the 1960s, Angola was in a state of disrepair, and conditions were harsh for its inmates. Stabbings were commonplace, and the prison gained a reputation for violence. Inmate deaths were also high, with prisoners dying from the harsh working conditions.

In 1952, 31 inmates cut their Achilles tendons to protest the brutal conditions, the hard labour, and the lack of quality food. This brought national attention to Angola, with news agencies writing exposé stories about the prison. In 1952, Collier's Magazine referred to Angola as "the worst prison in America".

In the 1970s, a federal court mandated reform, and conditions began to improve. Elayn Hunt, the first female head of corrections in the state, was appointed in 1972. She was a fierce advocate for criminal justice reform and worked to implement court-ordered reforms, including ending the "trusty guard system" and decentralising the state penitentiary.

By 1977, inmate violence had dramatically decreased, and the violent death rate dropped to zero. Successive heads of the Department of Corrections continued Hunt's legacy of reform, and by the 1990s, the prison was accredited by the American Correctional Association.

The prison has been the subject of criticism and lawsuits over its treatment of inmates, particularly those on death row

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, has been the subject of criticism and lawsuits over its treatment of inmates, particularly those on death row.

In 1971, the American Bar Association criticised the conditions at Angola, describing the prison as "medieval, squalid and horrifying". In the 1970s, the US courts in Gates v Collier ordered Louisiana to improve conditions at Angola, putting an end to the Trustee-Officer and Trusty systems. Despite these efforts, Angola remained one of the most violent prisons in the country, with 343 assaults recorded in 2015.

In 2013, three prisoners filed a federal lawsuit against the prison, alleging that the death row facility lacked adequate measures to prevent overheating. The prisoners claimed that due to pre-existing medical conditions, the heat could cause health issues. In response, the district federal judge ordered temperature data collection at the Angola death row to determine the conditions.

In 2017, three death row inmates at Angola filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the prison and the Louisiana Department of Corrections (LDOC) over its solitary confinement policy. The lawsuit described the basic conditions on death row as sparse cells with little natural light and very little religion. The lawsuit was settled in 2021, with inmates on death row being granted more time out of their cells, communal outdoor recreation, the ability to worship together, and other amenities.

In 2021, a federal judge found that the Louisiana State Penitentiary had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in its treatment of inmates requiring rehabilitative services. The judge ordered injunctive relief in 15 areas, including healthcare, mental health services, and disability accommodations.

In addition to these lawsuits, Angola has also been criticised for its use of extended lockdown and solitary confinement, particularly for death row inmates. Death row inmates are held in solitary confinement during their entire incarceration, which can last for years or even decades due to lengthy appeals processes. They are confined to their windowless cells for 23 hours a day and are only allowed one five-minute personal phone call per month.

The prison has also faced scrutiny for its treatment of juvenile inmates. In 2023, the ACLU and other legal organisations filed a lawsuit demanding the closure of the youth unit at Angola, alleging that children detained there were subjected to horrific conditions and routine mistreatment. The lawsuit described incidents of collective punishment, inadequate mental health services, and lack of access to education.

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