Angola Prison: Who Owns It?

Angola Prison, officially known as 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. The prison is located on the site of a former slave plantation and is named after the country of Angola, from which many enslaved people originated before arriving in Louisiana.

The prison has a long and troubled history, including reports of brutality and inhumane treatment of inmates. It was originally run by a private firm but came under state control in 1901 following news reports of abuse. Despite reforms, Angola Prison continued to face issues due to its geography and administration, including frequent flooding and budgetary constraints.

Today, Angola Prison offers various educational and vocational programs for inmates and has been accredited by the American Correctional Association. However, it still faces criticism for its treatment of prisoners, with some arguing that the prison system amounts to modern-day slavery.

Angola Prison is located on the site of a former slave plantation

Angola Prison, officially known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is located on the site of a former slave plantation. The plantation was named Angola after the country of Angola, from which many of the enslaved people originated before arriving in Louisiana.

The 28 square miles of land that the prison sits on was, before the American Civil War, known as the Angola Plantations, a slave plantation owned by slave trader Isaac Franklin. In 1880, the land was purchased by former Confederate Major Samuel Lawrence James, who tried to produce cotton with the forced labour of African Americans.

In 1901, the state of Louisiana purchased the prison camp from the James family and resumed control of its prisoners. The prison has since been the site of numerous controversies, including brutal treatment of inmates, poor conditions, and mass escapes. Today, it is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, with 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff.

It 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. It is located on the west bank of a bend in the Mississippi River, in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. The prison sits on 18,000 acres of land—the size of Manhattan—and is flanked on three sides by water.

The site was once occupied by the Angola Plantations, a slave plantation owned by slave trader Isaac Franklin. After the Civil War, the land was purchased by former Confederate Major Samuel Lawrence James, who tried to produce cotton with the forced labour of African Americans. In 1880, James moved a small number of male and female prisoners to the site, which became known as the James Prison Camp.

In 1901, the state of Louisiana took control of Angola, and it officially became the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Throughout the 20th century, the prison faced numerous problems due to its geography and administration. Floods in 1902, 1912, and 1922 destroyed crops, a key source of funding. During the Great Depression, conditions deteriorated, and 31 inmates slashed their Achilles tendons in protest.

In the following decades, Angola underwent several rounds of renovations and improvements, including better medical care and new camps. By the 1990s, the prison was accredited by the American Correctional Association. Today, Angola has a variety of enterprises, including corn, cotton, soybean, and wheat crops; a license tag plant; a mattress factory; and a herd of 1,600 cattle.

Angola is also known for its inmate-run rodeo, which has been held twice a year since 1965. The rodeo includes events such as bull riding, bareback riding, and convict poker, and it attracts thousands of visitors.

Angola Prison is run by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, is a maximum-security prison farm in Louisiana. It is run by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections.

The prison is located in West Feliciana Parish, on the east side of a bend in the Mississippi River. It is named after the former slave plantation that occupied this territory. The plantation was named Angola after the country in Southern Africa, from which many enslaved people were taken to Louisiana.

The 28 square miles of land the prison sits on was known before the American Civil War as 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.

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections states that the facility opened as a state prison in 1901. The state began transferring prison facilities out of the old penitentiary into Angola. The old penitentiary continued to be used as a receiving station, hospital, clothing, and shoe factory, and place for executions until it finally closed in 1917.

In the 1930s, Angola was described as "even further removed from decent civilisation" than it was in the 1990s. This was because Angola held some of the most dangerous inmates.

In 1952, 31 inmates cut their Achilles tendons in protest of the prison's conditions. This caused national news agencies to write exposé stories about Angola. In its November 22, 1952, issue, Collier's Magazine referred to Angola as "the worst prison in America".

In 1972, Elayne Hunt, a reforming director of corrections, was appointed by Governor Edwin Edwards. The U.S. courts in Gates v. Collier ordered Louisiana to clean up Angola once and for all, ordering the end of the Trustee-Officer and Trusty systems.

Efforts to reform and improve conditions at Angola have continued. In 1975, U.S. District Judge Frank Polozola of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, declared conditions at Angola to be in a state of emergency. The state installed Ross Maggio as the warden. Maggio earned the nickname "the gangster" because he strictly adhered to rules. Most accounts suggest that he improved conditions at Angola.

In 2012, 1,000 prisoners were transferred to Angola from C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center, which had closed. The state government did not increase the prison's budget or hire additional employees.

In 2021, a federal judge found that the Louisiana State Penitentiary violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in treating inmates requiring rehabilitative services.

Angola Prison has been the subject of numerous reports of brutality and inhumane treatment of inmates

Angola Prison, officially known as the Louisiana State Penitentiary, has been the subject of numerous reports of brutality and inhumane treatment of inmates.

The prison, which was once a slave plantation, has a long history of violence and inhumane conditions, dating back to its days as a plantation. After the Civil War, former Confederate Major Samuel Lawrence James purchased the land and turned it into a prison camp, leasing convicts from the state as workers. James subjected the convicts, who were mostly Black, to harsh conditions, including forced labour, abuse, and unregulated violence. Many convicts died while working on the plantation.

Even after the state took back control of the prison in 1901, conditions did not improve. In the 1930s, hardened prisoners broke down upon learning of their sentence at Angola, and the rate of stabbings was extremely high, with one in every ten inmates being stabbed each year. In the 1950s, 31 inmates cut their Achilles tendons to protest the brutal and inhumane conditions, and the prison gained a reputation as "the worst prison in America".

In the following decades, sexual slavery and violence became common, and in the 1970s, an average of 12 inmates were stabbed to death each year. Although conditions have improved since then, with Warden Burl Cain bringing in a religious program to reduce violence, controversies and reports of inhumane treatment still persist.

The prison has been nicknamed the Alcatraz of the South

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, has been nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South". It is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, with 6,300 prisoners and 1,800 staff, including corrections officers, janitors, maintenance workers, and wardens.

The prison sits on 28 square miles of land, previously known as 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.

The nickname "Alcatraz of the South" is likely due to the prison's brutal conditions and history of violence. Over the years, there have been riots and assaults, and inmates have been subjected to harsh working conditions and overcrowding. In 1952, a group of inmates cut their Achilles tendons in protest of the work and conditions, and in 1999, six inmates took three officers hostage, resulting in the death of one officer.

The prison has also been used as a filming location for movies like JFK, Monster's Ball, and Dead Man Walking, which was based on real events at Angola. Despite the dark history, Angola has implemented various outreach programs, including church services, counselling for veterans, and an inmate-produced newspaper.

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