Angola, New York: A Prison And Its History

Angola Prison, officially known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is a maximum-security prison located in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. It is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, with a population of 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff. The prison has a long and troubled history, dating back to the 1800s when it was a slave plantation. After the Civil War, the land was purchased and used as a convict lease system, with inmates facing harsh conditions and forced labour. Today, Angola Prison has improved, with a focus on reform and rehabilitation, but it still faces criticism and lawsuits over issues such as solitary confinement and inadequate medical care.

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. It houses 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff, including corrections officers, janitors, maintenance workers, and wardens. Located in West Feliciana Parish, the prison is set between oxbow lakes on the east side of a bend in the Mississippi River and is therefore flanked on three sides by water.

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 at the end of Louisiana Highway 66, around 22 miles northwest of St. Francisville.

Angola has a violent history. In 1992, it experienced 1,346 assaults, both inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff. Burl Cain, who served as warden from 1995 to 2016, turned to religion to bring morality to the inmates. He invited the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to open an ordination program on the prison grounds, and today, hundreds of inmate-ministers are turning thousands of incarcerated people to Jesus.

Angola has three levels of solitary confinement. "Extended lockdown" is colloquially known as "Closed Cell Restricted" or "CCR". The next most restrictive level was, as of 2009, "Camp J", an inmate housing unit that houses solitary confinement. The most restrictive level is "administrative segregation", referred to by inmates as the "dungeon" or the "hole".

Angola is the only penitentiary in the US where inmates are allowed to independently run their own churches, a practice founded in the prison's history with slavery.

Angola was once known as America's Bloodiest Prison due to its high rate of inmate assaults

Angola, or the Louisiana State Penitentiary, was once known as "America's Bloodiest Prison" due to its high rate of inmate assaults. Located in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, the prison is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, with 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff. The prison has a long and troubled history, dating back to the 19th century when the land was a slave plantation.

In the early 20th century, the prison was known for its harsh conditions, with inmates often subjected to unregulated violence and forced labour. During this time, the prison was leased to a private company, and the state passed laws targeting African Americans, resulting in many being forced into jail and convict labour. This continued into the 1930s, with one source stating that Angola in 1930 was "probably as close to slavery as any person could come". During this decade, one in every ten inmates was stabbed, and the prison staff were accused of running the prison like a "private fiefdom".

In 1952, 31 inmates protested the prison's conditions by cutting their Achilles tendons, leading to national news agencies exposing the situation at Angola. In 1971, the American Bar Association described Angola as "medieval, squalid and horrifying", and in the following years, efforts were made to reform and improve conditions. However, violence continued to be an issue, with a 1993 incident where officers fatally shot an escapee, and a 1999 incident where six inmates took officers hostage, resulting in the death of one officer.

In recent years, Angola has continued to face issues, with a class-action lawsuit filed in 2023 alleging that inmates are forced to work in the prison's fields for little to no pay, even in dangerous conditions. The lawsuit also claims that inmates who refuse to work or fail to meet quotas are punished, and that this practice violates their constitutional rights. Despite these ongoing issues, some improvements have been made, with the prison's former warden, Burl Cain, implementing religious programs and education initiatives to reduce violence and promote rehabilitation.

The prison is located on land that was originally an 8,000-acre plantation in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola, is located on land that was once an 8,000-acre plantation in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. The plantation, named after the country of Angola in Southern Africa, was owned by slave trader Isaac Franklin. It was purchased in the 1830s from Francis Rout as four contiguous plantations.

The Angola plantation was one of several that made up the 28 square miles of land before the American Civil War. The others were Panola, Belle View, and Killarney. 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 became known as "the bloodiest prison in America." He ran the plantation using convict lease labour, with convicts leased from the state as workers. James was responsible for their room and board and had total authority over them. This system led to rampant abuse, with convicts frequently underfed and subjected to unregulated violence.

In 1901, the Louisiana State Penitentiary opened on the site of the former plantation. The prison has a violent history, with 1,346 assaults recorded in 1992. However, under the leadership of Warden Burl Cain, who served from 1995 to 2016, the prison's violence rate decreased significantly.

Today, Angola is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, housing 6,300 prisoners and employing 1,800 staff. It is located at the end of Highway 66, about 22 miles northwest of St. Francisville, Louisiana. The prison is set between oxbow lakes and is flanked on three sides by the Mississippi River.

Angola has been criticised for its use of solitary confinement and inadequate medical care for inmates

Angola Prison, also known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, has been criticised for its use of solitary confinement and inadequate medical care for inmates.

Solitary confinement

Angola Prison has been criticised for its extensive use of solitary confinement. The "Angola Three"—Robert Hillary King, Albert Woodfox, and Herman Wallace—were held in solitary confinement for decades, serving 29, 43, and 40 years respectively. In 2013, Amnesty International called for the release of 71-year-old Wallace, who had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. He was released on October 1, 2013, but died three days later. Woodfox was also released in 2016, after 45 years in prison, 43 of them in solitary confinement.

In 2000, the Angola Three filed a civil suit against the Louisiana Department of Corrections, challenging the practice of long-term solitary confinement and seeking damages for the adverse effects of extended time in isolation. This case is still pending as of 2019.

In addition to the Angola Three, other inmates have shared their experiences of solitary confinement at Angola Prison. One former inmate, who was just 17 years old when he was sent to "Camp J," described his time in isolation as "dehumanizing." He recalled the lack of educational programs and the presence of severe mental illness among his fellow inmates, highlighting the devastating consequences of solitary confinement.

Inadequate medical care

Angola Prison has also been criticised for providing inadequate medical care to its inmates. In 2015, a class-action lawsuit, Lewis v. Cain, was filed, accusing the prison of causing needless pain and suffering due to medical shortfalls. The lawsuit demands more oversight, reforms, and an increased budget for medical care.

Specific instances of inadequate medical care at Angola Prison have been documented. For example, Francis Brauner, an inmate serving a 20-year sentence, experienced a sharp pain in his back while performing hard labour. Despite requiring surgery, he was denied treatment and left unattended, developing severe wounds that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, inmates at Angola Prison reported widespread illness, dysfunctional care, and neglect. They claimed that sick prisoners were left in their bunks, often less than 4 feet apart, and that medical staff failed to adequately address their health concerns. Additionally, the prison was criticised for its unwillingness to test inmates widely for COVID-19, despite having test kits available.

The quality of medical care at Angola Prison has been a focus of criticism, litigation, and reform efforts for almost half a century. Deficient health care, along with rampant violence, overcrowding, and racial segregation, led to a federal consent decree in 1983 and federal oversight of the state corrections system.

The medical staff at Angola Prison have also faced scrutiny. Nearly all the doctors working full-time at the prison had their licenses suspended for various violations, including drug dealing and sexual misconduct. Inmates and their advocates argue that the medical staff is unable to adequately address their day-to-day medical needs, leading to delayed diagnoses, lack of specialised care, and difficulties in obtaining regular medication.

The prison has been the setting for several films, including *Dead Man Walking* and *Monster's Ball*

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, has been the setting for several films, including *Dead Man Walking* and *Monsters Ball*. The prison is the largest maximum-security facility in the United States, with about 6,300 inmates and 1,800 staff working on an 18,000-acre swath of land.

• Dead Man Walking is a film inspired by the book of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean, which tells the story of prisoners on death row. The film was not shot at Angola Prison, but the real-life story it was based on took place there.
• Monsters Ball, on the other hand, was filmed at Angola. The film is set in a Georgia prison, but production took place in Louisiana, including at Angola. The film's death row scenes were shot on Angola's real death row, and the original electric chair, "Gruesome Gertie", was brought in from the prison museum for filming.

Other films that have been shot at Angola include *I Love You Phillip Morris* and *The Farm: Angola, USA*.

Frequently asked questions