Angola Prisoners: How Much Money Do They Earn?

Angola, or the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. It is located on the site of a former slave plantation and was known as The Bloodiest Prison in the World due to its history of brutality and violence.

Inmates at Angola are paid between 10 and 75 cents an hour for regular prison jobs, such as custodial, maintenance, and food service work. However, many regular prison jobs are unpaid. Inmates who work in state-owned businesses, such as license plate production or furniture manufacturing, earn slightly more, between 33 and $1.41 an hour on average.

The prison has faced scrutiny and lawsuits over the years due to its harsh conditions, including excessive heat and insufficient medical care, which have been described as cruel and unusual punishment. Despite some reforms, Angola still has a long way to go in improving the treatment of its inmates.

Angola prisoners are paid between 10 and 42 cents an hour for regular jobs

Angola, officially the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is a maximum-security prison in Louisiana, USA. It is the largest maximum-security prison in the country, with 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff.

Angola was once known as "The Bloodiest Prison in the World". It was built on the site of a former slave plantation and was known for its brutal treatment of inmates. Inmates with the worst jobs in the prison pick fruits and vegetables in the fields, which is considered manual labour.

In recent years, there have been efforts to reform and improve conditions at Angola. In 1993, officers fatally shot a 29-year-old escapee, and in 1995, a new warden was appointed, who was known for making numerous improvements and lowering the prison violence rate. However, in 2019, there were still ongoing lawsuits regarding "cruel and unusual punishment" at the prison, due to excessive heat and insufficient medical care.

In addition to regular jobs, Angola also offers jobs in state-owned businesses, which pay prisoners between 33 cents and $1.41 per hour. These jobs include working in the prison's corn, cotton, soybean, and wheat crops; a license tag plant; printing services; and a mattress factory.

The wages prisoners earn do not include any deductions, which often leave them with less than half of their gross pay. For example, in Massachusetts, at least half of each paycheck goes into a savings account to pay for expenses after release. In New Mexico, 15-50% of each paycheck is deducted for a Crime Victims Reparations Fund, discharge money, and family support.

The low wages paid to Angola prisoners can make it difficult for them to afford basic necessities while incarcerated and can hinder their chances of success after release.

They can make between 33 cents and $1.41 an hour working for state-owned businesses

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. It is located on the site of a former slave plantation and was named after the country in West Africa from which many of the enslaved people originated.

Prisoners at Angola can make between 33 cents and $1.41 an hour working for state-owned businesses. These businesses produce goods and services that are sold to government agencies, and the revenues generated help fund these positions. However, only about 6% of prisoners in state prisons earn these "higher" wages.

Angola has a long history of forced labour and brutality. In the early 20th century, the prison was run by a private company that used convict labour to produce cotton. After news reports of brutality against inmates, the state of Louisiana took control of Angola in 1901.

In the 1930s, Angola was described as being "even further removed from decent civilisation" than it was in the 1990s. During this time, the prison was used to incarcerate some of the "meanest inmates". In the 1950s, a new governor fulfilled his campaign promise to clean up Angola, renovating the old buildings and adding new camps.

Despite decades of reform, Angola still faces issues such as excessive heat and insufficient medical care. There are ongoing lawsuits regarding "cruel and unusual punishment" at the prison. For example, in 2012, an inmate named Shannon Hurd, who was serving a life sentence for stealing $14, began experiencing flu-like symptoms and weight loss. Despite his worsening condition, doctors at Angola repeatedly dismissed his medical complaints. Hurd was eventually diagnosed with kidney cancer, but by then the tumours had already spread to his brain. He died in prison in 2017 at the age of 42.

Angola has been called "the bloodiest prison in the South" and "the bloodiest prison in the world" due to its history of inmate assaults and brutality. While conditions have improved since its early days, there is still much work to be done to address the issues that plague the prison.

Inmates with the worst jobs in the prison work in the fields

Angola, officially the Louisiana State Penitentiary, 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 is also one of the most notorious prisons in the country.

The prison is located on the site of a former plantation named for the origin of the slaves that worked its fields. The prison's nickname, Angola, is derived from the country of the same name, from which many of the enslaved people originated before arriving in Louisiana.

Prisoners in Angola are forced to work in the fields for virtually no pay. In May 2018, a group of prisoners refused to perform field labour, with one prisoner stating that they "don't want to work for free [because it's] modern-day slavery".

Field work at Angola is gruelling. Prisoners spend long hours doing manual labour, such as harvesting produce, which requires a lot of bending down in the hot sun. Prisoners complain of a lack of water to keep them hydrated and cool.

Most new prisoners begin working in the cotton fields. A prisoner may spend years working there before gaining a better job.

Prisoners with physical disabilities are often forced to work in the fields. For example, one prisoner with a torn knee ligament was forced to work in the fields even after his "temporary duty" status—which excused him from such work—expired. In another case, a prisoner with cataracts that made him legally blind was still forced to work in the fields.

Prisoners in Angola make as little as 2 cents an hour, according to the state's 2015 pay regulations. According to data collected by the Prison Policy Initiative, prisoners in Louisiana are paid anywhere between 4 cents to $1 per hour for jobs that support prison facilities.

Angola has been the subject of lawsuits regarding cruel and unusual punishment

Angola, officially the Louisiana State Penitentiary, has been the subject of several lawsuits regarding cruel and unusual punishment.

In 2024, a federal judge ruled that the prison's medical care was "constitutionally inadequate", causing a substantial risk of serious medical harm to its population of over 6,000. The lawsuit, filed in 2015, stated that Angola violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment by neglecting the serious medical needs of incarcerated people. The complaint also alleged that security personnel—not medical personnel—were often tasked with the initial assessment of whether someone was "really sick" when they claimed to have a medical emergency. The court found that the Department of Corrections lacked the infrastructure necessary to provide a constitutionally adequate health care system.

In 2021, a federal judge found that Angola had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in its treatment of inmates requiring rehabilitative services.

In 2013, three prisoners filed a federal lawsuit against the prison, alleging that the death row facility's lack of adequate measures to prevent overheating violated the Eighth Amendment. In 2014, a court-ordered plan to install a cooling system was put in place.

In March 2017, three death row inmates at Angola filed a federal class-action suit against the prison and the Louisiana Department of Corrections, charging that its solitary confinement policy constituted "cruel and unusual punishment" under the Eighth Amendment. The lawsuit described the basic conditions on death row as sparse cells, hot in summer, with little natural light and very little religion. This lawsuit was settled in October 2021, with inmates on death row being granted more time out of their cells to congregate and recreate, as well as the ability to worship together and have contact visitations.

Angola, the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, has a long history of harsh conditions and has been the subject of criticism and reform efforts for decades.

The prison has its own radio show and news magazine, produced and edited by inmates

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.

Angola has its own radio station, KLSP 91.7 FM, which is run by the inmates themselves. It is the only FCC-licensed radio station in the country to be facilitated by inmates. The station was established in 1986 as a means of communicating with the entire prison population at once, as Angola is the country's largest correctional facility.

KLSP is licensed as a religious/educational station, with a focus on gospel, jazz, blues, rock-n-roll, country, and oldies music, as well as educational and religious programs. The station has 20 hours of daily airtime, and all of the music aired is donated.

In addition to providing a space for expression and communication, the radio station helps inmates relieve stress and tension. Reverend A.J., a 71-year-old inmate serving a life term for first-degree murder, hosts a gospel show on KLSP. He says that the radio station has given him a chance to give back after doing so much wrong.

Angola also has its own inmate-produced news magazine, The Angolite, which has gained a national reputation for its reporting. The magazine has won several awards, including the George Polk Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award. It was the first prison publication to be nominated for a National Magazine Award.

The Angolite is edited and published by the inmates themselves, and each year, six issues are published. The magazine covers a range of topics, including sports, religion, and issues within the prison. It provides a platform for inmates to express themselves and share their experiences.

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